TRANSPORT

Croydon

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will set out with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the Croydon Central constituency, the effects of his Department's policies on that constituency since 2005.

Sadiq Khan: The Department for Transport does not routinely hold transport statistics on a parliamentary constituency basis. However, the Department provides Transport for London (TfL) with a block grant to fund transport delivery in London. This grant has more than doubled in the last nine years, rising to some £3.3 billion in 2010-11. Drawing on these and other resources, the Mayor is responsible for publishing and, through TfL, implementing a Transport Strategy for London, while the boroughs are required to publish local implementation plans which set out how they will contribute to the Mayor's strategy.
	Bus services in London have improved. 2,247 million passenger journeys were made in 2008-09 and patronage grew by grew by 40 per cent. between 2000-09.
	Concessionary travel continues to benefit elderly and disabled Londoners, and more than a million older people currently hold a Freedom Pass.
	South London rail routes serving Croydon have also improved. Southern have delivered a new fleet of trains, some of which operate on South London services, and the remaining rolling stock has been refurbished.
	TfL took over operational control of Croydon Tramlink in June 2008. Approximately 27.2 million passenger journeys were made on Croydon Tramlink in 2008-09.
	On the roads, national targets to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured by 40 per cent. and reduce the number of "slight" casualties by 10 per cent. (compared to the period 1994-98) by 2010 were largely exceeded by TfL by 2004, leading to TfL setting themselves new targets of 50 per cent and 25 per cent. respectively.
	Various improvements in relation to cycling have also been realised across London. TfL report that cycling now accounts for 2 per cent. of trips in London compared to 1.2 per cent in 2000, and London is the only major city in the world to have achieved a modal shift away from the car. From 2000-2009 the mode share of private motorised transport has fallen by around 6 per cent, levels of cycling have almost doubled and public transport use has risen dramatically. On an average weekday over one million people enter Central London on public transport during the morning peak.

Driving: Disqualification

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what progress has been made on the adoption of the 1998 European Convention on Driving Disqualifications; and what steps he has taken to promote mutual recognition of driving disqualifications in EU member states.

Paul Clark: On 28 January 2010 mutual recognition of driving disqualifications between the UK and Ireland entered into force.
	We wish to gain practical experience with our arrangements with Ireland before considering mutual recognition with other member states.

Heathrow Airport

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will make it his policy not to proceed with his Department's proposals for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

Paul Clark: The High Court ruling on 26 March 2010 does not require us to change our policy, which remains to support a third runway at Heathrow subject to conditions, including compliance with limits in respect of noise and local air quality. The ruling acknowledges that the Heathrow decisions announced in January 2009 are part of a continuing process which, under the Planning Act 2008, will involve further steps including the preparation of a national policy statement for airports and further consultation, and that this process provides a complete legal framework for considering all the issues raised in the court case.

Railway Stations

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the effect on (i) rail services and (ii) the energy consumption of trains of station stops aligned (A) horizontally and (B) vertically.

Chris Mole: HS2 Ltd. commissioned Imperial College to undertake traction energy modelling, which included the impact of station stops. This report was published earlier this month and is available on HS2 Ltd.'s website
	www.hs2.org.uk/supporting-documents-temp

Railways: Construction

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how long on average it takes to travel from each of  (a) Glasgow,  (b) Aberdeen,  (c) Norwich,  (d) Exeter,  (e) Middlesbrough,  (f) Liverpool and  (g) Milton Keynes to each of (i) Brussels, (ii) Madrid, (iii) Chicago and (iv) Tokyo; and what the equivalent average travel times are expected to be following completion of the HS2 core network.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport does not hold this information in the form requested.
	The completion of the potential HS2 core network would accelerate surface access to certain UK airports, but actual time savings would depend on rail and airline service patterns and timetabling at that time.

Sea Rescue: Emergency Exits

Greg Knight: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport for what reason the fire escape at Flamborough Head coastguard station is considered inadequate for its purpose.

Paul Clark: Flamborough Head coastguard rescue team base is located in an old three-storey building. Each storey is a single, small room and the room on the ground-floor is used to house unmanned radio equipment. A single narrow staircase is the only means of access and escape. This arrangement does not meet modern fire safety standards.

Sea Rescue: Fire Services

Greg Knight: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many fires requiring evacuation there have been at Flamborough Head coastguard station in the last 30 years.

Paul Clark: There have been no fires requiring evacuation at the volunteer Flamborough Head Coastguard Rescue Team base in the last 30 years.

Sea Rescue: Standards

Greg Knight: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what studies his Department has conducted on the likely effect on incident response times of the closure of Flamborough Head coastguard station.

Paul Clark: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has considered the effect of closing its Flamborough Head volunteer coastguard rescue team base and has concluded that incident response times will be unaffected.

Thameslink Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether the bringing into service of new Thameslink rolling stock is dependent on the provision of additional train maintenance depots.

Patrick Hall: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether the introduction of new Thameslink rolling stock is dependent upon the establishment of new train maintenance depots.

Chris Mole: I can confirm that the bringing into service of new Thameslink rolling stock is dependent on the provision of additional train maintenance depots.

Thameslink Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  when he expects to announce his decision on the location of additional train maintenance depots for new Thameslink trains; [R]
	(2)  what plans he has to  (a) establish new and  (b) develop existing train maintenance depots to support the new fleet of Thameslink trains. [R]

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport is planning to establish new depots to support the new fleet of Thameslink trains at Hornsey in the London borough of Haringey and at Three Bridges in the borough of Crawley.
	Network Rail has commenced the process for securing planning consents for these depots with the relevant local authorities. It would be inappropriate to comment on the outcome of these discussions at this stage.

Thameslink Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  which locations are being considered for the construction of additional train maintenance depots to service new Thameslink trains; [R]
	(2)  what discussions  (a) he and  (b) officials of his Department have had with representatives of (i) Network Rail, (ii) train operating companies and (iii) local authorities on the provision of additional train maintenance depots for the new Thameslink rolling stock. [R]

Chris Mole: Department for Transport officials have had a number of discussions with Network Rail, train operating companies and local authorities regarding the additional train maintenance depots for the new Thameslink rolling stock. We are proposing a new depot in Hornsey in the London borough of Haringey and at Three Bridges in the borough of Crawley.

Thameslink Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Patrick Hall: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what assessment he has made of the merits of building new train maintenance depots for Thameslink stations at different locations.

Chris Mole: Department for Transport officials have worked closely with Network Rail and the train operating companies to assess the options for locating new train maintenance depots for the new Thameslink rolling stock. We are proposing a new depot in Hornsey in the London borough of Haringey and at Three Bridges in the borough of Crawley.

Thameslink Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Patrick Hall: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what discussions his Department has had with  (a) Network Rail,  (b) train operating companies and  (c) local authorities on new train maintenance depots for the new Thameslink rolling stock.

Chris Mole: Department for Transport officials have had a number of discussions with Network Rail, train operating companies and local authorities regarding the new train maintenance depots for the new Thameslink rolling stock. We are proposing a new depot in Hornsey in the London borough of Haringey and at Three Bridges in the borough of Crawley.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2010,  Official Report, column 19W, on Afghanistan: peacekeeping operations, what the average cost of  (a) aviation and  (b) vehicle fuel was (i) per litre and (ii) per imperial gallon in each such year.

Quentin Davies: The average monthly price of fuel for operations in Afghanistan is:
	
		
			   Aviation  f uel per litre (£)  Vehicle  f uel per litre (£) 
			  Period   
			 April 2009 - end January 2010 1.325 1.25 
			 May 2008 - March 2009 1.46 1.38 
		
	
	We purchase fuel in litres and keep records only on this basis. The costs per litre prior to May 2008 are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Manpower

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2010,  Official Report, column 674W, on armed forces: manpower, what the shortfall of  (a) reservists and  (b) regular (i) medical, (ii) nursing and (iii) paramedic staff was on 1 October in each year since 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: The information requested is shown in the following tables for regular and reserve forces. To enable comparisons with past years using the data currently available, the total 'requirement' figures include 'manning and training margins' and the 'manning' figures include personnel who were both trained and in-training. Shortfalls have been addressed by a variety of means and they have never resulted in the Defence Medical Services being unable to meet their operational commitments. The standard of medical care provided to service patients remains extremely high as has been recognised by the House of Commons Defence Committee and the National Audit Office.
	
		
			  Regular forces 
			   Requirement  Manning  Shortfall (percentage) 
			  Data as of 1 October 2002
			 Doctors 1,060 918 13 
			 Nurses 1,976 1,600 19 
			 Dental Officers and Allied Dental Healthcare Professionals 817 858 -5(1) 
			 Medical Allied Health Professionals 4,610 3,748 19 
			 Total 8,463 7,124 16 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2003
			 Doctors 1,168 897 23 
			 Nurses 2,015 1,735 14 
			 Dental Officers and Allied Dental Healthcare Professionals 845 875 -4(1) 
			 Medical Allied Health Professionals 4,542 4,101 10 
			 Total 8,570 7,608 11 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2004
			 Doctors 1,199 998 17 
			 Nurses 2,052 1,805 12 
			 Dental Officers and Allied Dental Healthcare Professionals 913 829 9 
			 Medical Allied Health Professionals 5,255 3,846 27 
			 Total 9,419 7,478 21 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2005
			 Doctors 1,155 1,037 10 
			 Nurses 2,068 1,725 17 
			 Dental Officers and Allied Dental Healthcare Professionals 886 820 7 
			 Medical Allied Health Professionals 5,108 4,084 20 
			 Total 9,217 7,666 17 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2006
			 Doctors - 911 - 
			 Nurses - 1,758 - 
			 Dental Officers and Allied Dental Healthcare Professionals - 790 - 
			 Medical Allied Health Professionals - 4,029 - 
			 Total - 7,488 - 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2007
			 Doctors 1,132 1,050 7 
			 Nurses 1,889 1,745 8 
			 Dental Officers and Allied Dental Healthcare Professionals 992 788 21 
			 Medical Allied Health Professionals 4,286 4,221 2 
			 Total 8,298 7,804 6 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2008
			 Doctors 1,137 1,113 2 
			 Nurses 1,901 1,723 9 
			 Dental Officers and Allied Dental Healthcare Professionals 984 796 19 
			 Medical Allied Health Professionals 4,276 4,267 0 
			 Total 8,298 7,899 5 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2009
			 Doctors 1,137 1,076 5 
			 Nurses 1,901 1,677 12 
			 Dental Officers and Allied Dental Healthcare Professionals 984 774 21 
			 Medical Allied Health Professionals 4,276 4,063 5 
			 Total 8,298 7,590 9 
			 (1 )Surplus  Notes: 1. Requirement figures include 'manning and training margins'. 2. Manning data include personnel who are both trained and in-training. 3. Requirement data not available for October 2006 as these were being recast in a DMS-wide study at that date. 4. 'Medical Allied Health professionals' include the paramedics cadre. 
		
	
	
		
			  Reserve forces (Army and Navy) 
			   Requirement  Trained strength  Shortfall (percentage) 
			  Data as of 1 October 2002
			 Medical officers 771 499 35 
			 Nurses 2,343 1,337 43 
			 Medical support services 2,017 1,592 21 
			 Dental officers and allied dental healthcare professionals 128 57 55 
			 Total 5,259 3,485 34 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2003
			 Medical officers 857 544 37 
			 Nurses 2,487 1,390 44 
			 Medical support services 2,357 1,456 38 
			 Dental officers and allied dental healthcare professionals 128 55 57 
			 Total 5,829 3,445 41 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2004
			 Medical officers 566 354 37 
			 Nurses 2,114 1,076 49 
			 Medical support services 1,640 1,154 30 
			 Dental officers and allied dental healthcare professionals 128 52 59 
			 Total 4,448 2,636 41 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2005
			 Medical officers 566 348 39 
			 Nurses 2,105 1,024 51 
			 Medical support services 1,388 1,077 22 
			 Dental officers and allied dental healthcare professionals 128 50 61 
			 Total 4,187 2,499 40 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2006
			 Medical officers 566 339 40 
			 Nurses 2,105 973 54 
			 Medical support services 1,300 1,032 21 
			 Dental officers and allied dental healthcare professionals 40 25 38 
			 Total 4,011 2,369 41 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2007
			 Medical officers 527 333 37 
			 Nurses 2,053 815 60 
			 Medical support services 1,300 887 32 
			 Dental officers and allied dental healthcare professionals 40 16 60 
			 Total 3,920 2,051 48 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2008
			 Medical officers 618 336 46 
			 Nurses 1,400 883 37 
			 Medical support services 1,100 960 13 
			 Dental officers and allied dental healthcare professionals 27 18 33 
			 Total 3,145 2,197 30 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2009
			 Medical officers 607 326 46 
			 Nurses 1,440 813 44 
			 Medical support services 1,104 882 20 
			 Dental officers and allied dental healthcare professionals 27 16 41 
			 Total 3,178 2,037 36 
			  Notes: 1. 'Dental officers and allied dental healthcare professionals' include dental practitioners, dental support officers, dental surgery assistants and dental technicians. 2. 'Medical Support Services' include the paramedic cadre. 3. Data is only available in this form over this period for RN and Army Reservists. 
		
	
	
		
			  Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) 
			   Requirement  Trained strength  Shortfall (percentage) 
			  Data as of 1 October 2002
			 Total (all specialties) 225 154 32 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2003
			 Total (all specialties) 227 149 34 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2004
			 Total (all specialties) 229 133 42 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2005
			 Total (all specialties) 229 112 51 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2006
			 Total (all specialties) 229 98 57 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2007
			 Total (all specialties) 227 93 59 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2008
			 Total (all specialties) 227 95 58 
			 
			  Data as of 1 October 2009
			 Medical officers 33 12 64 
			 Nurses 86 44 49 
			 Medical Support Officers 6 4 33 
			 Dental officers and allied dental healthcare professionals 109 62 43 
			 Total 234 122 49 
			  Notes: 1. In 2009, the data system for recording RAuxAF manpower statistics was revised to contain more detail, including the introduction of recording personnel by trade.  2. For pre-2009 statistics, a breakdown of total numbers by trade could only be provided through manual search of the Joint Personnel Administration database. This information could therefore only be obtained at disproportionate cost. For years prior to 2009 the total shortfall percentage is provided.

Armed Forces: Rescue Services

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he expects to sign  (a) a contract and  (b) any other agreement with the preferred bidder for the provision of search and rescue helicopter services from 2012 before the Dissolution of Parliament.

Quentin Davies: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 22 March 2010,  Official Report, column 16W.

Army: Allergies

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the applications guidelines of the Armed Forces Careers Office, Form 5, June 2007, how many people have been refused entry into the Army on the grounds of an allergic disorder in each of the last five years; and how many such refusals were the subject of an appeal supported by medical evidence.

Kevan Jones: Information on the number of individuals who have been refused entry to the British Army on the grounds of an allergic disorder is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, I can confirm that the Army recruiting and training division headquarters have considered 21 allergy-related appeals against non-selection over the last five years. Of these appeals, four were successful, two were withdrawn and 15 were unsuccessful.

Chinook Helicopters

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the details of the contract he has signed with Boeing in respect of the acquisition of additional Chinook helicopters; and whether  (a) the contract will provide for the provision of the Julius cockpit design and  (b) the helicopters will be acquired under the US foreign military sales.

Quentin Davies: Long-lead engineering work and acquisition of long-lead manufacturing components will be undertaken under the contract signed with Boeing on 23 March 2010. This work is necessary to protect the critical path to delivery of initial aircraft during the course of 2012 and 2013.
	No final decision has yet been made on the cockpit configuration, nor on the procurement route, although if the Julius cockpit solution is selected this would not be under a US foreign military sale. I expect the Main Gate investment decision to be taken very shortly.

Departmental Disclosure of Information

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what restrictions there are on his Department's officials regarding the disclosure of information on future defence policy matters; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: holding answer 29 March 2010
	MOD officials may disclose official information only in accordance with current rules and procedures including, in the case of civil servants, the Civil Service Code and in compliance with the Official Secrets Acts, the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Departmental Publications

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the most recent Armed Forces Families Continuous Attitude survey.

Kevan Jones: Each service conducts a Families Continuous Attitude survey. The aim is to assess and monitor the attitude of serving personnel's spouses in key areas such as housing, child care, communication and welfare. The results obtained help to formulate strategic policy and identify specific trends, such as quality of service families' accommodation or the effectiveness of MODern Housing.
	The most recent reports from the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force will be placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2010,  Official Report, column 22-3W, on departmental temporary employment, what the total amount spent on employing temporary staff was in  (a) each of the last three years and  (b) 2009-10 to date.

Kevan Jones: Manpower substitutes are only engaged to fill funded posts until permanent recruitment can be completed or where the posts cannot be filled by other means. They are particularly important where units are closing or merging to enable permanent staff to be redeployed to secure posts while maintaining the role of the unit until closure, to ensure that services to the front line or other critical areas do not suffer gaps while permanent recruitment takes place or to temporarily fill specialist posts where the gap is caused by the individual being forward deployed.
	While a great deal of work is being undertaken to increase the information available on the amount of money spent across the Ministry of Defence on manpower substitutes, this work is still ongoing and will improve further as the People Pay and Pensions Agency assumes more responsibility for delivering manpower substitution services for more categories of temporary staff. Consequently, the information requested is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Electronic Warfare

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the feasibility of strengthening military systems against electromagnetic attacks; and what estimate he has made of the cost of undertaking such work.

Bill Rammell: It would not be in the interests of national security to provide information about specific vulnerabilities, assessments or protective measures relating to electromagnetic attack.

Electronic Warfare

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effects on the critical infrastructure of his Department of an electromagnetic pulse strike caused  (a) deliberately and  (b) through solar activity.

Bill Rammell: Information about specific vulnerabilities, assessments or protective measures relating to electromagnetic pulse strike is being withheld for the purpose of safeguarding national security.

Members: Correspondence

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2010,  Official Report, column 1117W, on armed forces: housing, when he plans to write to the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife.

Kevan Jones: I wrote to the hon. Member on 29 March 2010.

Snow and Ice

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of his Department have taken authorised days of absence owing to severe weather in 2010.

Kevan Jones: The information on the number of members in the Ministry of Defence who have taken authorised days of absence owing to severe weather in 2010 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

War Pensions

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future provision of services to war pensioners; whether he plans to close any war pensions offices; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: The Veterans Welfare Service (VWS) is part of the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) and provides one to one support, via telephone and home visits, to veterans throughout the UK and Ireland. Advice can be offered on many issues but the most common are war pension/compensation entitlement and applications, housing, benefits, employment and personal welfare.
	The VWS has been reorganised into five regional centres each providing one to one telephone advice. This has improved customer service and efficiency, without reducing the capacity to handle cases. All the welfare managers who conduct home visits have been retained.
	Veterans organisations were advised of the change and War Pensions Committee chairmen formally gave their backing.

Weapons: Transport

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the  (a) transport cost in respect of and  (b) carbon emissions arising from (i) the arrangements for supply of armaments under his Department's pilot scheme and (ii) the transition to direct delivery of such armaments.

Quentin Davies: holding answer 6 April 2010
	The additional transport costs of the pilot scheme to assess the feasibility of direct delivery of armaments to Ministry of Defence depots to supply Royal Naval vessels is assessed as small in terms of the overall savings achievable, equating to around two vehicles per week.
	No estimate has yet been made of the change in carbon emissions which might result from the pilot scheme, or the overall implementation of the improvement programme.

JUSTICE

Croydon

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Croydon Central constituency, the effects on that constituency of his Department's policies since 2005.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice's work spans criminal, civil and family justice, democracy, rights and the constitution. Every year around nine million people use, our services in 900 locations across the United Kingdom, including 650 courts and tribunals and 139 prisons in England and Wales.
	The range of the Department's policies and actions is wide and the statistical information relating to it is not normally collected on a constituency basis. Consequently, some of the information requested in the question cannot be provided in the form requested except at a disproportionate cost.
	Although data on sentencing for the period are not available for the constituency of Croydon, Central, they are available for London. These show the total number of offenders sentenced annually was 216,107 in 2005 and 242,429 in 2008, the latest period for which such information is available.
	The number of offences brought to justice for London increased from 182,350 for the 12 months ending 31 March 2006 to 230,202 (provisional figures) for the 12 months ending 31 March 2009.
	With regard to prosecutions, data are not available for the constituency of Croydon, Central. However, the total number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts by the Metropolitan Police was 261,617 in 2005, compared to 279,581 in 2008.
	The latest data, which cover reoffending in the period 1 October 2008 to 30 September 2009, showed that the three month reoffending rate for offenders on the probation caseload in Croydon was 9.49 per cent. After controlling for changes in the characteristics of offenders on the probation caseload, there was an increase in reoffending of 3.12 per cent. compared to the 2007-08 baseline. Data are not available prior to 2007 on this basis.
	The number of persons commencing court order supervision by the Probation Service in London was 18,931 in 2005 and 23,787 in 2008.
	154,616 civil non-family proceedings were started in the county courts of London Civil and Family HMCS area in 2009, compared to 175,889 in 2005. There were also 15,437 private law applications and 886 public law applications made in the county or High Courts of this HMCS area in 2008-09, compared to 14,540 and 1,207 respectively in 2005-06.
	In addition, at a national level:
	Local communities are being better engaged in criminal justice-by giving them a say in the types of Community Payback projects offenders carry out and allowing them to see justice being done, for example through the use of high visibility jackets. Offenders have now worked more than 14 million hours, with an estimated value to the taxpayer of over £80 million.
	Major constitutional reforms have been delivered, including devolution, the Human Rights Act, Freedom of Information, Lords Reform, and a new Supreme Court for the UK.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Charlie Whelan

Philip Dunne: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood (Mr. Hurd) of 24 March 2010,  Official Report, column 295W, on Charlie Whelan, what type of pass Mr. Whelan holds; when it was issued; and who the sponsor is of the pass.

Nick Harvey: Mr. Whelan holds a temporary pass (light blue) issued in June 2009. It is sponsored by the parliamentary Labour party from within an agreed allocation.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

BBC

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what meetings he has had with the BBC in each of the last two years; what the agenda was of each such meeting; who attended each such meeting; if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of each such meeting; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Details of meetings with outside groups that I have held since I became Secretary of State on 5 June 2009 are regularly published on my Department's website. I have held the following meetings with representatives of the BBC:
	
		
			   Reason for meeting 
			 10 June 2009 Digital Britain Report 
			 27 July 2009 Digital Britain Discussion 
			 19 October 2009 Regular update 
			 5 November 2009 Broadcasting in Scotland 
			 8 March 2010 BBC Strategic Review 
		
	
	Notes of meetings with outside groups are not published as a matter of course.

Departmental Buildings

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department and its agency have spent on rooms for staff leisure in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: Nothing has been spent.

Departmental Marketing

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department and its agencies spent on promotional items carrying the Department's branding and logo in the last five years; and what such items were.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and its agency, the Royal Parks, has not spent any money on promotional items carrying the Department's branding logo in the last five years.

Opposition

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  whether his Department has undertaken costings of the policies of the  (a) Conservative Party and  (b) Liberal Democrat Party at the request of Ministers or special advisers in the last 36 months;
	(2)  whether his Department has undertaken costings of the policies of  (a) the Conservative Party and  (b) the Liberal Democrat Party at the request of Ministers or special advisers in the last 36 months.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary, on 30 March 2010,  Official Report, column 1913W.

Television: Licensing

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the percentage change was in  (a) the cost of the television licence fee and  (b) the number of licence fee payers in each year since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: The percentage increase in the licence fee in each year is set out in the tables.
	
		
			   Level of colour licence fee (£)  Percentage increase 
			 1997 91.50 - 
			 1998 97.50 6.6 
			 1999 101.00 3.6 
			 2000 104.00 3.0 
			 2001 109.00 4.8 
			 2002 112.00 2.8 
			 2003 116.00 3.6 
			 2004 121.00 4.3 
			 2005 126.50 4.5 
			 2006 131.50 4.0 
			 2007 135.50 3.0 
			 2008 139.50 3.0 
			 2009 142.50 2.2 
			 2010 145.50 2.1 
		
	
	
		
			   Level of black and white licence fee (£)  Percentage increase 
			 1997 30.50 - 
			 1998 32.50 6.6 
			 1999 33.50 3.1 
			 2000 34.50 3.0 
			 2001 36.50 5.8 
			 2002 37.50 2.7 
			 2003 38.50 2.7 
			 2004 40.50 5.2 
			 2005 42.00 3.7 
			 2006 44.00 4.8 
			 2007 45.50 3.4 
			 2008 47.00 3.3 
			 2009 48.00 2.1 
			 2010 49.00 2.1 
		
	
	The percentage increase in licence fee payers each year since 1997 is set out in the table.
	
		
			   Licence fee payers (excludes free licences to entitled persons introduced autumn 2000)  Percentage increase 
			 1997 21,305,247 - 
			 1998 21,722,714 2.0 
			 1999 22,240,032 2.4 
			 2000 22,625,387 1.7 
			 2001 22,838,887 1.0 
			 2002 23,157,215 1.4 
			 2003 23,485,613 1.4 
			 2004 23,898,749 1.8 
			 2005 24,161,532 1.1 
			 2006 24,418,757 1.1 
			 2007 24,545,516 0.5 
			 2008 24,740,047 0.8 
			 2009 24,877,070 0.6

TREASURY

Banks: Finance

William Cash: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes in levels of  (a) taxation and  (b) public expenditure will be required to finance the requirement to repay loans made from the public purse to banks, as referred to in the Financial Services Authority's publication Financial Risk Outlook of 10 March 2010.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: holding answer 16 March 2010
	The Financial Risk Outlook discusses liquidity and funding support provided to eligible institutions. Responsibility for repayment of such support lies with the eligible institution itself.

Council Tax

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when officials in his Department became aware that the costs of a council tax freeze referred to on 3 February 2010,  Official Report, column 370, were incorrect; on what date it was decided to place a correction on his Department's website; and what the effect of a two-year freeze on council tax would be on expenditure in council tax benefit.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 22 March 2010
	The estimates referred to on 3 February 2010,  Official Report, column 370, are the cost to central Government of providing every council in England with top up funding to compensate for freezing council tax for two years. This costing considered only the direct costs of providing a top-up, assumed to be equivalent to a 2.5 per cent. increase in band D bills in England.
	The Treasury's website was updated on 22 February 2010 to make clear that the costing, which was originally placed on the Treasury's website on 24 December 2009 related to the cost to central Government of compensating local authorities.
	The impact on council tax benefit of a two-year freeze on council tax has not been estimated.

Council Tax: Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Programme Board minutes of 21 September 2004, paragraph 3.3, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Data Enhancement Questionnaire policy approved by the Minister.

Ian Pearson: The then Minister approved the use of the Data Enhancement Questionnaire, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

Croydon

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Croydon Central constituency, the effects on that constituency of his Department's policies since 2005.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Neighbourhood Statistics Service provides a wide range of statistical information at Parliamentary constituency level, taken from the 2001 Census and other sources. This service is available on the National Statistics website at
	http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk./
	The Government have put in place a broad programme of reform since 1997. Over the decade to 2007, the economic performance of all parts of the UK has improved considerably. In Croydon Central, the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance reached its lowest level on record in November 2007.
	The global recession has had a negative impact on economic activity in all areas of the UK. However, the economy was starting from a position of strength and is actively supported by policies implemented by the Government, including the fiscal stimulus and a significant package of support for those out of work.
	In Croydon Central people are benefiting from this investment. Having risen through the first half of last year, the claimant count has remained broadly flat since the middle of 2009, with more than 700 people moving off of the claimant count each month on average over the period. Youth unemployment has also started to decline and now stands more than 10 per cent. below the highs seen in the third quarter of 2009.

Departmental Buildings

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many smoking shelters have been built for his Department's staff in the last five years; and at what cost.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested is given in the following table.
	
		
			  HM Treasury spend on smoking shelters, 2005-09 
			  £000 
			   London  Norwich 
			 2005 - - 
			 2006 - - 
			 2007 - - 
			 2008 - (1)0.8 
			 2009 - - 
			 (1) Cost of moving existing shelter in order to comply with changes in legislation.

Departmental Food

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what account his Department's food procurement policy takes of animal welfare.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Torbay (Mr. Sanders) on 23 March 2010,  Official Report, column 189W.

Departmental Information Officers

Nick Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff in  (a) his Department,  (b) HM Revenue and Customs,  (c) the Valuation Office Agency and  (d) his Department's other agencies (i) have the status of embedded communicators and (ii) are members of the Government Communications Network but are not listed in the Central Office of Information White Book.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: HM Treasury and the Valuation Office Agency have no embedded communicators. HM Revenue and Customs has 304 embedded communicators. Of HM Treasury's agencies, the Office of Government Commerce has six embedded communicators and the Debt Management Office has none.
	Data are not held on Government Communications Network membership.

Departmental Travel

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much  (a) Ministers and  (b) staff of each grade in (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies spent on first class travel in the last 12 months.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The normal class of travel for staff in HM Treasury and its agencies is standard class. However, where there is a business or other justification, first class travel is available to staff at all levels but the reason must be included when seeking reimbursement. Information on the class of tickets purchased and the grade of the user is not held, because HM Treasury's accounting system records the costs of travel but not the number, type of tickets bought or traveller's grade. However, for financial year 2008-09, the travel management company provided information on the number and type of tickets purchased through them.
	HM Treasury spent £382,000 on air travel and £18,000 on rail travel, the Debt Management Office £3,000 on rail travel and Office of Government Commerce £319,000 on rail travel. Tickets bought but subsequently refunded are excluded and some tickets are bought directly by the traveller, so this information is not a complete record of all tickets bought.
	Since 1999, the Government have published, on an annual basis, a list of all overseas visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500, as well as the total cost of all ministerial travel overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the "Civil Service Management Code" and the "Ministerial Code".

Early Intervention

Hilary Armstrong: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress his Department has made on development of financial mechanisms to support early intervention policies across the Government in the long-term.

Liam Byrne: The Budget announced the Government's support for the first social impact bond (SIB) pilots to help investment in long-term initiatives and support preventative action-including an MOJ pilot to reduce reoffending rates in HMP Peterborough.
	The Government will explore further application of this model through the Total Place programme and more widely. The DCSF, for example, have recently pledged to explore the potential of SIBs to lever in additional resources to support early intervention approaches with children and young people.

Financial Services: Advisory Services

Andrew Selous: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to publish the full evaluation of the Money Guidance Pathfinder.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The full evaluation report on the Money Guidance pathfinder, conducted by the Personal Finance Research Centre at the University of Bristol, will be published by June 2010.

Financial Services: Advisory Services

Andrew Selous: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people took part in the Money Guidance Pathfinder.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In total, 575,000 people used the Money Guidance service in the North West and North East of England between April 2009 and March 2010.

Green Investment Bank

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what timetable he has set for the launch of the Green Investment Bank announced in Budget 2010.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Government anticipate that the Green Investment Bank could be operational by autumn 2011, and this timing accords with that of the projected need for investment. Further details are provided in Chapter 2, paragraph 2.23 of Infrastructure UK's Strategy for national infrastructure, which was published alongside the Budget.

Import Duties: Mephedrone

David Burrowes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been collected in import duty on mephedrone in each of the last three years.

Stephen Timms: Mephedrone is listed as a Home Office controlled drug. Import consignments of mephedrone will have been entered under commodity codes 293299 85 90 (prior to 1 January 2009) and 293299 00 90 (from 1 January 2009).
	The information requested is set out in the following table. Imported mephedrone attracts an import duty rate of 6.5 per cent.
	
		
			   Import duty collected on consignments of mephedrone (£) 
			 2007 174,900.06 
			 2008 158,546.69 
			 2009 250,857.43

Investment Income

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) total monetary value of and  (b) proportion of net investment income in the UK balance of payments has been in each year since 2006.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Official estimates of the current account, including net investment income are available from the Office for National Statistics.
	The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			   Net investment income 
			   £ billion  Percentage of current account flows 
			 2006 9.6 15.2 
			 2007 20.1 26.2 
			 2008 30.2 36.7 
			 2009 28.7 37.8

Investment Returns

Roger Berry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate the Financial Services Authority has made of the monetary value of losses incurred by with-profits bond investors who were entitled to claim the guaranteed value of their investments on a market value reduction-free date but failed to do so.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The FSA does not hold the information requested.
	It is a matter for individual policyholders when they decide to cash in their with-profits bond investments. However, where life insurance companies sell policies which include guarantees for market value reduction-free (MVR-free) encashment, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) requires them to treat their policyholders fairly by informing them of the existence of such guarantees at the point of sale and reminding them of those guarantees in post-sale communications. In addition, FSA rules require firms not to make an MVR unless the market value of the assets in the fund is, or is expected to be, significantly less than the face value of the policy being surrendered.

Keydata Investment Services

Katy Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with the Financial Services Authority on its regulation of Keydata; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Treasury Ministers and officials have discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.

National Insurance Contributions

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on the level of unemployment in  (a) the UK,  (b) each region of England,  (c) Scotland,  (d) Wales and  (e) Northern Ireland of the planned rise in the rate of National Insurance contributions.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given on 22 March 2010,  Official Report, column 71W, to the hon. Member for Solihull (Lorely Burt). The effect is expected to be the same across the UK.

National Insurance Contributions

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the effect on small businesses of the planned rise in the rate of national insurance contributions.

Stephen Timms: The national insurance contribution changes have been designed so that the impact is balanced fairly between individuals and employers, and between businesses of different sizes. The increase in national insurance contributions in 2011 represents only a small proportion of total business costs. Therefore, in the climate of stronger economic growth forecast by the Treasury and independent commentators in 2011 and beyond, the Government expect the rise in national insurance contributions to be an affordable contribution to fiscal consolidation.
	This rise should also be seen in the context of the significant support available for businesses, including small businesses. Budget 2010 announced further measures, including an increase in the annual investment allowance, an extension of entrepreneurs' relief and a temporary increase in the level of small business rate relief.

National Insurance Contributions

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's impact assessment on the planned rise in the rate of National Insurance contributions announced in the pre-Budget report in  (a) 2008 and  (b) 2009.

Stephen Timms: An impact assessment, if necessary, will be published alongside the Bill which will introduce these changes. Impact assessments are not required where there are no associated administrative costs.

Revenue and Customs: Visits Abroad

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff at HM Revenue and Customs have visited  (a) Barbados,  (b) Vanuatu,  (c) St. Lucia,  (d) Spain,  (e) Turkey,  (f) Venezuela,  (g) New Zealand,  (h) Australia,  (i) Spain,  (j) Cyprus,  (k) Jamaica,  (l) Malta,  (m) Sri Lanka,  (n) China,  (o) Japan and  (p) the United Arab Emirates on official business in each of the last three years; and what the cost was of visits to each destination.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) staff may travel overseas where it is necessary to deliver the Department's objectives, including on fiscal fraud enforcement, enforcement of prohibition and restrictions, and the provision of mutual administrative assistance.
	Information disaggregated by country is not available, as publication of this information could compromise and prejudice the Department's compliance work.
	Aggregated information from HMRC's central travel contract on the number of HMRC staff who travelled to any of the countries in question, and the overall cost of air travel and hotel accommodation is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of staff  Cost (£) 
			 2007-08 250 244,834 
			 2008-09 282 392,829 
			 April 2009 to December 2009 138 165,664 
		
	
	Information on other travel costs and expenses incurred by HMRC staff while abroad is only available at disproportionate cost.
	On occasion, for operational reasons, HMRC staff may book their travel through means other than the Department's travel contract. For example, this may be due to the need to travel at short notice, with colleagues from other organisations or to take advantage of special deals for cheaper flight tickets available elsewhere. Information on the number of staff who travelled to the destinations in question having booked travel in this way, and the expenditure incurred in doing so, is available only at disproportionate cost.

Royal Bank of Scotland: Liverpool Football Club

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the loans made by Royal Bank of Scotland to Liverpool Football Club are guaranteed under the Government's asset protection guarantee scheme.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Royal Bank of Scotland is a participant in the Asset Protection Scheme. The Government will not disclose any information on individual assets covered by the scheme because this information is received via the Financial Services Authority and relates to the business affairs of individual customers and counterparties. Disclosure of such information is restricted by domestic and European law, and there are no provisions which would permit disclosure in this case. Such information may also be considered commercially sensitive.

Taxation: Domicile

Graham Stuart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people paid the £30,000 remittance basis charge in the 2008-09 tax year; how many people claimed to be non-domiciled in the UK in 2008-09 tax returns; and how many such people were resident in the UK.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 10 March 2010
	Based on an initial analysis of the Self Assessment returns received to date, HMRC estimate that around 4,600 individuals paid the remittance basis charge of £30,000 for the 2008-09 tax year. The same data also indicate that around 103,000 individuals claimed non-domicile status for 2008-09, of whom 74,000 were resident in the UK. However, these figures may need to be revised in the light of later tax returns.

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2010,  Official Report, column 1264W, on Valuation Office Agency (VOA), what data the VOA has  (a) requested and  (b) received from the National Register of Social Housing; and on what statutory basis the VOA obtained access.

Ian Pearson: Only a list of addresses of properties on the National Register of Social Housing was requested and received by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). This information was received on 2 March 2005 and was a snapshot of the addresses of properties on the National Register at that time. The list of addresses was provided voluntarily to assist the VOA in its preparations for the now postponed Council Tax Revaluation in England. No further information has subsequently been requested or received. The VOA does not have, and has never had, access to the full National Register of Social Housing, nor is there a statutory gateway giving such access.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Abuse: Parents

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department has taken to reduce the incidence of abuse of parents by children under the age of 18 years.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 6 April 2010
	Such cases would be captured within the Government's definition of domestic violence. The commitment in our strategy: "Together We Can End Violence Against Women and Girls" to include gender equality and violence against women in the national curriculum will help to educate young people that violence is unacceptable in any relationship.

Arrest Warrants: Human Trafficking

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) European arrest warrants and  (b) other arrest warrants were issued in the UK in respect of people suspected of human trafficking offences between 1 April 2009 and 31 January 2010.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 30 March 2010
	It is not possible to disaggregate the number of warrants by offence type.

Asylum

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for asylum under consideration by the UK Border Agency were received before the introduction of his Department's new asylum model.

Phil Woolas: The Agency is unable to accurately report on the outstanding asylum cases being dealt with by the Case Resolution Directorate (CRD). As reported in February 2010 to the Home Affairs Select Committee, 52 per cent. of the concluded cases were data errors and required no further action. Therefore, any such report would be unable to accurately represent CRD cases with outstanding applications.

Crime: Children

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) undertaken into (i) child victims of crime and (ii) child criminals in each of the last five years.

Alan Johnson: For the purposes of this reply we have considered any Home Office research looking specifically or primarily at children (those aged under 18) as perpetrators or victims of crime, where the research was undertaken in 2005 or later. A number of Home Office research projects may include some information on young people as victims or offenders as part of a more general research study: these are not covered in this reply.
	 (i) Child victims of crime
	Since 2005 the Home Office has commissioned or undertaken the following research in respect of child victims:
	BMRB (British Market Research Bureau) were commissioned to extend the British Crime Survey (BCS) to include a representative sample of children aged 10 to 15 as part of the BCS 2010-11 fieldwork contract. The BCS was extended from January 2009 with the objective of providing estimates of victimisation among those aged 10 to 15 and better understanding children's experiences of victimisation and key crime related issues in England and Wales.
	The Home Office reported in 2009 on the key trends in monitoring Phase 1 of the Tackling Knives Action Programme (TKAP) aimed at reducing the carrying of knives and serious stabbings among teenagers (13 to 19-year-olds) in 10 police force areas. The report is available at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/horr18c.pdf
	The Home Office commissioned a process evaluation in March 2009 to look at the implementation of the Child Sex Offender Review public disclosure. The final report was published in March 2010.
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs10/horr32c.pdf
	 (ii) Child criminals
	Since 2005 the Home Office has commissioned or undertaken the following research in respect of child offenders:
	The Home Office was responsible for carrying out the Offending Crime and Justice Survey (OCJS) since 2003. The survey has completed four annual sweeps (2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006). The main aim of the survey is to gather information on young people's attitudes towards and experiences of offending in England and Wales (particularly those aged from 10 to 25). The OCJS also collects information about young people's victimisation experiences. Results from the 2005 and 2006 OCJS surveys are available at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb1706.pdf
	and
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb0908.pdf
	In November 2009 longitudinal analysis of those who took part in all four years of the OCJS was published and is available at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/horr19c.pdf
	The Home Office commissioned the Juvenile Cohort Study in 2007. It was designed to provide evidence about which interventions are associated with reductions in re-offending for young offenders with different characteristics. Since the machinery of government changes (May 2007), this work is now owned and being taken forward by the Ministry of Justice.
	The Home Office commissioned an evaluation of the Drug Intervention Programme pilots for children and young people. The report was published in 2007.
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/rdsolr0707.pdf
	In 2009 the Home Office commissioned a process evaluation of the implementation of the Youth Crime Action Plan. This study is ongoing.

Crime: Shropshire

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) car thefts,  (b) burglaries and  (c) violent crimes have been reported in North Shropshire in each year since 1997.

Alan Campbell: The requested information is given in the tables.
	Figures at Community Safety Partnership (CSP) level, formerly Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP), are available from 1999-2000 onwards. CSPs arose from the introduction of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.
	The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced in April 2002. Figures before and after this date are not directly comparable.
	Police recorded crime statistics are affected by changes in reporting and recording practice, and can be influenced by police priorities and activity.
	All of these factors need to be considered when looking at the trends in recorded crime. The Audit Commission undertook substantial audit work on crime recording in the years following the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002 (up until 2006-07) this indicating a generally increasing level of NCRS compliance across forces in this period.
	
		
			  Table 1: Offences recorded by the police in the North Shropshire Community Safety Partnership area-1999-2000 to 2001-02( 1) 
			  Number of offences 
			  Offence  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Violence against the person 491 436 738 
			 Burglary in a dwelling 222 217 180 
			 Other burglary * * * 
			 Theft of motor vehicle 166 148 111 
			 "*" = Not available. (1) The data in this table are prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Offences recorded by the police in the North Shropshire Community Safety Partnership area-2002-03 to 2008-09( 1) 
			  Number of offences 
			  Offence  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Violence against the person 881 886 705 567 649 612 484 
			 Burglary in a dwelling 183 159 128 117 108 100 137 
			 Other burglary 574 453 392 397 329 412 360 
			 Theft of motor vehicle 129 98 104 79 84 78 78 
			 (1) The data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Crimes of Violence

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) murders and  (b) sexual offences recorded in (i) each police force area and (ii) England and Wales, in each year since 1998 remain unsolved.

Alan Johnson: The available information is given in the form of tables showing undetected crime in each financial year from 1998-99 to 2008-09. Tables 1 and 2 show the numbers for undetected homicides; tables 3 and 4 those for undetected sexual offences. As offences detected in the current year may initially have been recorded in an earlier year it is not possible to determine the numbers of undetected crime in a particular year.
	It should be noted that non-sanction detections, which contribute to the overall detection rates, have fallen in recent years. This reflects a significant shift by many police forces away from recording detections where no further action is taken. This will have had an impact on the number of crimes which remain undetected.
	
		
			  Table 1: Undetected homicides by police force area - 1998/99 to 2001/02 
			   Undetected 
			   1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Avon and Somerset 2 2 -3 6 
			 Bedfordshire -1 -2 3 0 
			 Cambridgeshire -2 0 -1 4 
			 Cheshire 1 0 0 1 
			 Cleveland 0 1 -2 1 
			 Cumbria 0 1 2 1 
			 Derbyshire 0 2 1 -2 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1 0 2 -1 
			 Dorset 2 -3 0 5 
			 Durham 0 -2 -1 0 
			 Dyfed-Powys 0 1 -1 0 
			 Essex 4 3 2 4 
			 Gloucestershire 2 1 1 3 
			 Greater Manchester -8 6 5 6 
			 Gwent 0 0 1 -1 
			 Hampshire -1 0 3 3 
			 Hertfordshire 0 0 2 -1 
			 Humberside 4 0 4 5 
			 Kent -1 3 2 4 
			 Lancashire 0 1 1 -1 
			 Leicestershire -2 0 2 0 
			 Lincolnshire 2 1 2 -1 
			 London, City of 0 0 0 0 
			 Merseyside 0 -2 7 13 
			 Metropolitan Police 20 45 19 55 
			 Norfolk 2 -2 2 3 
			 Northamptonshire 1 0 0 1 
			 Northumbria -1 0 3 1 
			 North Wales 0 0 0 0 
			 North Yorkshire 0 1 0 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 3 0 4 1 
			 South Wales 1 4 0 -6 
			 South Yorkshire 1 1 -1 6 
			 Staffordshire 4 2 3 -3 
			 Suffolk 0 1 -3 0 
			 Surrey 1 1 7 -3 
			 Sussex 4 -1 5 5 
			 Thames Valley 3 4 4 -1 
			 Warwickshire 0 -1 0 0 
			 West Mercia -2 1 1 0 
			 West Midlands 0 3 8 8 
			 West Yorkshire -1 0 -1 8 
			 Wiltshire 0 1 1 -1 
			  
			 England and Wales 39 73 84 123 
			  Note: Offences detected in any given year may have been previously recorded in an earlier year. When offences detected in the year exceed the number recorded a negative value is shown. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Undetected homicides by police force area-2002-03 to 2008-09 
			   Undetected 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Avon and Somerset 5 1 4 1 2 1 1 
			 Bedfordshire -1 0 -1 3 -4 -2 1 
			 British Transport Police -1 43 -3 2 0 1 2 
			 Cambridgeshire -2 1 1 2 0 1 2 
			 Cheshire 0 2 1 2 -2 -2 2 
			 Cleveland 2 -1 1 -3 1 0 1 
			 Cumbria 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Derbyshire 2 0 -3 0 2 0 1 
			 Devon and Cornwall 4 0 0 1 6 5 -1 
			 Dorset 0 0 2 -1 3 -1 0 
			 Durham -2 1 0 0 2 1 -1 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1 0 1 -1 0 1 -1 
			 Essex 6 3 0 9 -3 2 -1 
			 Gloucestershire 2 1 2 1 0 2 -1 
			 Greater Manchester 7 2 15 0 7 6 8 
			 Gwent 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 
			 Hampshire 9 3 4 0 5 2 0 
			 Hertfordshire 1 4 -1 4 -2 1 -1 
			 Humberside 1 5 -32 1 0 1 0 
			 Kent -1 -1 2 1 1 3 0 
			 Lancashire 4 19 -20 -1 0 0 3 
			 Leicestershire 2 2 2 1 4 -2 1 
			 Lincolnshire -3 2 0 0 1 6 4 
			 London, City of 0 0 0 0 1 -1 0 
			 Merseyside 11 9 12 -2 2 3 2 
			 Metropolitan Police 37 6 16 16 27 18 14 
			 Norfolk 2 0 -1 4 -2 1 2 
			 Northamptonshire 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 
			 Northumbria -1 2 -1 2 0 3 -2 
			 North Wales 7 -5 1 1 0 1 -3 
			 North Yorkshire -2 2 -3 0 1 -1 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 4 -1 1 -3 3 -3 2 
			 South Wales -4 3 -2 5 2 -1 1 
			 South Yorkshire 1 0 0 0 3 2 0 
			 Staffordshire 5 0 -2 1 2 1 0 
			 Suffolk 2 0 1 4 2 1 0 
			 Surrey 6 2 3 1 -1 1 -1 
			 Sussex 5 2 5 0 0 4 -1 
			 Thames Valley 7 5 -3 7 1 2 -4 
			 Warwickshire 1 1 -1 4 0 -1 -1 
			 West Mercia 0 3 2 -2 1 3 4 
			 West Midlands 15 0 -4 8 -3 6 5 
			 West Yorkshire -3 19 2 3 4 2 5 
			 Wiltshire 0 1 1 0 1 1 -1 
			 
			 England and Wales 130 137 6 71 69 69 44 
			  Note : Offences detected in any given year may have been previously recorded in an earlier year. When offences detected in the year exceed the number recorded a negative value is shown. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Undetected sexual offences by police force area-1998-99 to 2001-02 
			   Undetected 
			   1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Avon and Somerset 394 441 673 915 
			 Bedfordshire 260 279 250 269 
			 Cambridgeshire 241 232 278 378 
			 Cheshire 106 76 90 113 
			 Cleveland 104 93 95 87 
			 Cumbria 35 37 30 49 
			 Derbyshire 299 405 482 430 
			 Devon and Cornwall 236 162 229 484 
			 Dorset 213 225 253 316 
			 Durham 82 49 58 181 
			 Dyfed-Powys 28 23 21 28 
			 Essex 695 620 711 721 
			 Gloucestershire 172 176 189 165 
			 Greater Manchester 1,242 1,354 1,340 1,599 
			 Gwent 132 97 55 56 
			 Hampshire 189 663 794 822 
			 Hertfordshire 170 181 289 207 
			 Humberside 501 569 516 651 
			 Kent 499 486 674 702 
			 Lancashire 455 385 531 691 
			 Leicestershire 414 471 437 526 
			 Lincolnshire 129 116 123 225 
			 London, City of 20 16 9 16 
			 Merseyside 335 423 467 657 
			 Metropolitan Police 6,447 7,911 7,566 8,057 
			 Norfolk 168 196 216 281 
			 Northamptonshire 153 97 81 165 
			 Northumbria 531 607 553 649 
			 North Wales 75 72 169 262 
			 North Yorkshire 65 118 125 145 
			 Nottinghamshire 603 675 740 875 
			 South Wales 143 142 145 154 
			 South Yorkshire 223 214 229 253 
			 Staffordshire 372 735 803 815 
			 Suffolk 166 216 251 319 
			 Surrey 80 376 511 446 
			 Sussex 564 697 818 783 
			 Thames Valley 680 824 862 857 
			 Warwickshire 76 108 118 115 
			 West Mercia 206 256 248 469 
			 West Midlands 915 1099 1331 1518 
			 West Yorkshire 690 596 606 751 
			 Wiltshire 114 165 256 220 
			  
			 England and Wales 19,222 22,683 24,186 27,422 
			  Note: The data in this table are prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Undetected sexual offences by police force area - 2002/03 to 2008/09 
			   Undetected 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Avon and Somerset 1,306 1,386 1,531 1,113 1,292 1,115 1,095 
			 Bedfordshire 362 437 392 493 350 280 348 
			 British Transport Police 656 795 876 671 700 534 547 
			 Cambridgeshire 540 624 560 572 544 561 523 
			 Cheshire 386 533 585 649 589 484 433 
			 Cleveland 221 409 444 434 397 330 315 
			 Cumbria 89 163 200 179 169 211 192 
			 Derbyshire 716 700 758 754 752 745 702 
			 Devon and Cornwall 813 1,047 1,095 1,085 1,040 1,033 992 
			 Dorset 448 542 500 560 472 579 543 
			 Durham 237 129 170 453 265 285 260 
			 Dyfed-Powys 31 261 289 256 250 208 184 
			 Essex 1,023 1,136 884 973 777 815 846 
			 Gloucestershire 338 322 364 465 470 426 377 
			 Greater Manchester 1,844 2,330 2,430 2,184 2,052 2,048 1,963 
			 Gwent 153 130 248 294 335 430 375 
			 Hampshire 1,078 1,606 1,846 1,951 1,975 1,699 1,634 
			 Hertfordshire 401 435 563 565 612 523 438 
			 Humberside 857 1,136 1,072 943 928 676 665 
			 Kent 857 1,046 1,308 1,334 1260 1,140 935 
			 Lancashire 579 1,014 983 874 830 817 684 
			 Leicestershire 745 768 1,006 948 915 931 856 
			 Lincolnshire 482 501 504 441 455 424 426 
			 London, City of 20 24 34 30 32 37 17 
			 Merseyside 834 946 873 912 666 620 497 
			 Metropolitan Police 8,343 7,800 7,193 6,725 6,717 6,288 5,976 
			 Norfolk 503 533 588 573 483 447 359 
			 Northamptonshire 362 300 345 395 348 449 409 
			 Northumbria 943 990 1,018 825 735 657 582 
			 North Wales 465 404 411 388 395 408 402 
			 North Yorkshire 248 309 304 335 332 372 348 
			 Nottinghamshire 731 805 731 759 778 807 870 
			 South Wales 377 429 528 707 610 622 607 
			 South Yorkshire 524 540 890 1,043 878 782 563 
			 Staffordshire 757 766 836 865 794 701 782 
			 Suffolk 363 490 400 407 435 473 489 
			 Surrey 429 468 549 492 397 439 618 
			 Sussex 889 939 1,331 1,119 1,128 960 1,034 
			 Thames Valley 1,398 1,500 1,517 1,456 1,680 1,580 1,617 
			 Warwickshire 188 292 268 242 300 265 269 
			 West Mercia 601 672 706 576 609 740 720 
			 West Midlands 1,849 2,137 2,434 2,325 2,329 2,140 1,786 
			 West Yorkshire 1,280 1,832 1,652 1,822 1,662 1,589 1,532 
			 Wiltshire 455 404 345 351 419 404 343 
			 
			 England and Wales 35,721 40,030 41,561 40,538 39,156 37,074 35,153 
			  Note: The data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Croydon

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Croydon Central constituency, the effects on that constituency of his Department's policies since 2005.

Alan Campbell: It has not proved possible to respond in the time available before Prorogation.

Departmental Energy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what  (a) voltage optimisers and  (b) equivalent technologies are used within buildings occupied by his Department.

Phil Woolas: The Home Office has adjusted the transformers in its headquarters in 2 Marsham street to tap down the voltage levels thereby reducing energy consumption. The Border Agency building Vulcan house in Sheffield has highly efficient inductive lighting and inductive motor loads so voltage optimisation would be of little or no value.
	The Home Office, working with the Carbon Trust, has also identified several potential sites to install voltage optimisation technology on the Home Office estate (including its Executive agencies). Work on fitting voltage optimisation technology in a UKBA building in Hayes has commenced.

Departmental Telephone Services

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 12 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 937-8W, on departmental telephone services, whether contracts were let for the provision of services relating to the helplines run by its agencies.

Phil Woolas: With reference to the answer of 12 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 937-8W, on departmental telephone services, the answer as to whether executive agencies of the Home Department let contracts for the provision of services relating to the helplines is as follows:
	(a) following procurement competition the operation of the Identity and Passport Service's helplines are contracted to Teleperformance;
	(b) the Criminal Records Bureau's helplines are operated as part of the services provided under its contract with Capita Business Services Ltd/ for disclosure processing; and
	(c) the United Kingdom Border Agency has not let contracts for the provision of services relating to helplines.

Departmental Translation Services

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on translation services by his Department in  (a) Ribble Valley,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England in each of the last five years.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 25 March 2010
	Translation services specific to Ribble Valley, Lancashire and England can be extracted only at disproportionate cost from the overall Home Office expenditure data provided in the background to the question.

Domestic Violence: Shropshire

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to reduce the level of domestic violence in North Shropshire.

Alan Campbell: The National Domestic Violence Delivery Plan sets out the Government's framework to support victims and manage perpetrators. Key initiatives identified in this Plan are being taken forward in North Shropshire to reduce the incidents of domestic violence, these include;
	A Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) which covers the whole of Shropshire and focuses on high risk victims;
	an Independent domestic violence adviser to support the cases
	identified at the MARAC, providing protection and support and helping to reduce repeat incidents of domestic violence;
	a specialist domestic violence court located in Shrewsbury;
	and a dedicated domestic violence forum which also provides practical support to victims such as mobile phones and home safety packs.

Drugs: Crime

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Ion Track drug detection devices are possessed by each police force in England and Wales.

Alan Johnson: The Home Office allocates funding to the police authority and it is for the chief constables and police authorities to determine their spending on different types of policing activity. It is therefore not possible to provide the data in the format requested.
	There are two main manufacturers of devices using the ion mobility spectrometry technology to detect either drugs or explosive traces. One of these was known as Ion Track prior to 2003.
	According to the Department's records, in excess of 150 devices using the ion mobility spectrometry technology have been supplied to police authorities in England and Wales since 2003. Some are used for drugs detection and others for explosive detection.

Drugs: Shropshire

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated street value is of drugs seized by police in North Shropshire in each year since 1997.

Alan Campbell: The information requested is not held centrally.

Illegal Immigrants

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants have been found  (a) in total and  (b) at each of the main ports of entry to the United Kingdom in each year since 1997.

Alan Johnson: It is Government policy to publish border force management information at a regional level, as location specific information could provide value to those seeking to circumvent our controls.
	The following table provides the number of illegal entrants detected by border force officers in the south and north regions between 2003 and 2009. These figures do not include the number of illegal immigrant's encountered in-country, and do not include those encountered at the juxtaposed borders in France and Belgium.
	
		
			   Region 
			   South  North  Total 
			 2009 303 23 326 
			 2008 455 45 500 
			 2007 487 47 534 
			 2006 393 28 421 
			 2005 312 7 319 
			 2004 241 - 241 
			 2003 70 - 70

Prisons: Organised Crime

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what information police forces have on the extent of organised crime within prisons;
	(2)  how many police investigations are under way into organised crime within Prison Service establishments in England and Wales.

Alan Campbell: This information is not collected centrally. Some organised criminals may seek to continue their activities following prosecution, conviction, and imprisonment and the National Offender Management Service is working closely with the law enforcement agencies in order to identify such activities and to take appropriate action to prevent them.

Sweet Concepts

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2010,  Official Report, column 156W, on Central Office of Information: marketing, what promotional products were purchased from Sweet Concepts Ltd. on behalf of  (a) the Police Information Technology Organisation and  (b) the Home Office; and at what cost in each case.

David Hanson: The promotional products purchased from Sweet Concepts Ltd on behalf of  (a) the Police Information Technology Organisation and (b) the Home Office, and the cost in each case are as follows:
	
		
			   Body  Promotional Product  Cost (£) 
			 October 2006 HO, Office of Criminal Justice Reform (now part of MoJ) 450 boxes of fortune cookies containing clues for distribution by 42 Local Criminal Justice Boards in community engagement events. These encourage the public to access a web interactive game employed in OCJR's Inside Justice Week campaign 11,003 
			 May 2007 UKBA 2,500 mint cards for e-Borders branding campaign 1,150 
			 April 2009 National Policing Improvement Agency formerly PITO 2,500 tins of mints for distribution at different events 1,150

War Crimes

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there are plans to establish a specialist war crimes unit in the Metropolitan police.

David Hanson: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer of 6 April 2010,  Official Report, columns 1287-288W.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Colombia: Human Rights

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will request that the Colombian authorities provide an explanation for the variation in the figures provided by different Colombian state organisations on the number of bodies in the mass grave recently discovered in La Macarena; and if he will discuss that matter with  (a) his counterparts and  (b) human rights organisations.

Chris Bryant: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 25 March 2010,  Official Report, column 425W to the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson) and can inform him that since then our ambassador has written a follow up letter to Carlos Franco, Director of the Presidential Human Rights Programme, requesting an update into the investigation and asking for an explanation of the difference between the Procurador General's findings and those of the Human Rights Programme.
	 (a) Our embassy in Bogota and our representation at the EU in Brussels have constant contact with other EU member states on Human Rights issues in Colombia.
	 (b) As stated in my answer of 25 March I met human rights activist Carolina Hoyos on 16 March where we discussed the mass graves in La Macarena. We work closely with non-governmental organisations and human rights defenders in Colombia.

Colombia: Human Rights

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the British embassy in Bogota has informed him of any steps taken by the Colombian authorities to ensure that physical evidence located at the mass grave recently discovered in La Macarena is protected pending an investigation by the government of Colombia or the International Criminal Court; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: We received assurances in Carlos Franco's letter of 16 February that the Colombian Government has instructed the police to adopt special security measures around the site of the mass grave.
	We trust that the Colombian Government will conduct a thorough investigation.

Colombia: Human Rights

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will request information from the Colombian authorities on the number of bodies recently found in a mass grave in La Macarena which are subject to an individual investigation; and if he will discuss that matter with his EU counterparts.

Chris Bryant: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 25 March 2010,  Official Report, column 425W to the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson) and can inform him that since then our ambassador has written a follow up letter to Carlos Franco, Director of the Presidential Human Rights Programme, requesting an update into the investigation and asking for an explanation of the difference between the Procurador General's findings and those of the Human Rights Programme.

Colombia: Human Rights

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will  (a) help facilitate and  (b) participate in a human rights fact-finding mission to the recently discovered mass grave in La Macarena.

Chris Bryant: Our embassy in Bogota is currently looking at logistical arrangements for a possible fact finding visit to the site.

Colombia: Human Rights

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take immediate steps to cease all co-operation with the Colombian Army until  (a) the Colombian authorities have provided him with a satisfactory explanation for the alleged presence of approximately 2,000 unidentified bodies in a mass grave in La Macarena and  (b) a thorough investigation has been carried out; and if he will discuss that matter with his EU counterparts.

Chris Bryant: No, but we will continue to raise these matters directly with the Colombian Government.

Colombia: Human Rights

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the status of the legal investigation into the presence of a mass grave in La Macarena; and whether he has received reports of a forensic search of those graves being conducted on behalf of any international organisation.

Chris Bryant: We are awaiting responses from the Director of the Presidential Human Rights Programme and the Office of the Procurator General. Given the complex nature of DNA and forensic investigations we do not expect further updates for a number of weeks.

Colombia: Human Rights

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make an assessment of the merits of offering the government of Colombia assistance for a forensic investigation of the mass grave recently found in La Macarena.

Chris Bryant: No request has been received from the Colombian Government for assistance on the investigation but we would consider the merits of any such request, including financial viability.

Colombia: Human Rights

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will  (a) obtain and  (b) place in the Library a copy of the report of the Colombian Procurator General's office on the 2,000 bodies allegedly found in the recently discovered mass grave in La Macarena; and if he will discuss the matter with (i) his EU counterparts and (ii) human rights organisations.

Chris Bryant: Our embassy will liaise with the Procurador General's office, and if and when an official report is made public, we will provide a copy to the Library of the House. We have contacted the Procurador General's office who has informed us that the investigation is still at the preliminary verification stage and that they are currently building up an historic memory. As developments into the investigation proceed our embassy will regularly liaise with EU member states and human rights organisations, as part of our constant contact with these groups.

Colombia: Human Rights

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received reports on the activities of units of the Colombian Army which operate in and around the southern Colombian municipality of La Macarena in the province of Meta; and whether he has received representations on alleged human rights abuses by those military units.

Chris Bryant: We have received no reports or representations on battalions operating in the La Macarena area. However, the organisation DHBAJOARIARI follows up on cases which are allegedly committed by the state and includes issues such as forced disappearances, extra-judicial killings. The organisation has not directly lobbied us on any individual incidents.

SCOTLAND

Employment

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues on measures to promote employment in Scotland.

Jim Murphy: I have regular discussions on employment in Scotland including about the Future Jobs Fund in Scotland.

Employment: Glasgow

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had on levels of employment in Glasgow.

Jim Murphy: In January I set up a taskforce to look at the problems of worklessness in Glasgow. I received the final report on 25 March which I discussed with the chair of the taskforce, Professor Pamela Gillies, Principal of Glasgow Caledonian university. I have had a number of discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions about the work of the taskforce.

Anti-Slavery Day Bill

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2010,  Official Report, column 961W, if he will seek the consent of the Scottish Parliament to extending the provisions of the Anti-Slavery Day Bill to Scotland.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office plays a vital role in working with the Scottish Government to ensure that where a Bill at Westminster covers areas of devolved policy the appropriate consent is secured. However, ultimately it is the Scottish Government that must agree to seek consent from the Scottish Parliament to extend the provisions of a particular Bill. My officials kept Scottish Government officials fully informed of progress of the Anti-Slavery Day Bill, but we were advised that the Scottish Government did not wish to bring forward a Legislative Consent Motion for this Private Members' Bill at this time.

Economic Growth

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on measures to increase the rate of growth of the Scottish economy.

Jim Murphy: I have had numerous discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a range of issues affecting Scotland, most especially around ensuring we do everything possible to help Scotland through the most severe global downturn in 60 years. The Scottish economy has benefited from the UK Government's fiscal stimulus, and will benefit from a range of measures designed to drive the economy to a sustained recovery.

Scottish Consolidation Fund

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the method for determining the level of grant to be allocated to the Scottish Consolidated Fund in 2010-11.

Jim Murphy: I have regular discussions with the Chancellor on a range of issues.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Housing: Oldham

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has given an undertaking to write off the sum provided to Oldham council to achieve the Decent Homes Standard in the event that it is successful in its stock transfer initiative.

Ian Austin: I refer my right hon. Friend the answer I gave him on 25 March 2010,  Official Report, column 542W.

Croydon

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will set out with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the Croydon Central constituency, the effects of his Department's policies on the constituency since 2005.

Barbara Follett: This Department does not routinely collect information at constituency level but, as the constituency of Croydon, Central, falls within the local authority of Croydon we have, where relevant included information from them in this answer.
	The Neighbourhood Statistics Service provides a wide range of statistical information at parliamentary constituency level, taken from the 2001 census and other sources. This service is available on the National Statistics website at:
	http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/
	Communities and Local Government statistical publications can be found at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/researchandstatistics/statistics/
	This includes time series data across the Department's remit at various geographic levels.
	Details of research projects commissioned by Communities and Local Government and its predecessors are available from our Research Database (RD) at:
	http://www.rmd.communities.gov.uk/
	This includes evaluations of key policies.
	Over the last year, Communities and Local Government has:
	Played a critical role responding to the recession ensuring people, business and communities receive the practical help they need, including: helping people avoid repossession; Real Help Now; supporting the construction industry, critical regeneration projects, jobs through Future Jobs Fund; and businesses with the business rates deferral scheme.
	Set in place a platform for greater local devolution for more effective decision making through local area agreements (LAAs)-including slashing central performance standards from over 1,200 to fewer than 200.
	Continued building on this through Total Place pilots, leading innovation across public services-cutting out waste, overlap and duplication, meaning more and better quality services at less cost to the taxpayer.
	Established the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) set out in the Planning Act 2008-which will make the major infrastructure planning decisions for the country, delivering a faster, fairer and more transparent planning regime.
	Announced the £1.5 billion Housing Pledge to deliver an additional 20,000 units of affordable housing, creating 45,000 jobs in the construction industry over this year and next, including 1,300 new apprenticeship schemes.
	Last year there were 600 additional affordable homes provided by Croydon local authority. See link for further information:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/1406085.xls
	During the period since 2005, the Department's achievements include:
	Working with local housing authorities to reduce the number of people accepted as owed a main homelessness duty by 43 per cent. since 2005-06, and 72 per cent. since the peak in 2003-the lowest level since the late seventies-through greater emphasis on the prevention of homelessness.
	In 2008-09, there were 449 households accepted as being homeless and in priority need in Croydon local authority compared to 581 households accepted as being homeless and in priority need in 2005-06. See link for further information:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/141476.xls
	Launching the Local Government White Paper 'Strong and Prosperous Communities' which set out a new stage of public sector reform, significantly strengthening leadership and devolving power to local government as well as providing a major expansion of opportunities for local people to influence local decision-making and improve their lives.
	Helping reduce accidental fire-related deaths-the lowest level since 1959.
	In 2008-09, there were 30 accidental fire related deaths in Greater London, compared to 47 accidental fire relate deaths in 2005/06. At the local level, fire deaths may fluctuate within a general declining national trend. See link for further information (Table 4b):
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/xls/1403049.xls
	Reducing by 1.2 million the number of non-decent social homes As at the 1st April 2009, there were 1,088 non-decent dwellings in Croydon local authority, compared to 2,463 non-decent dwellings at 1 April 2006 See links for further information:
	 2008-09 data
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/1393612.xls
	 2005-06 data
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/153226.xls
	Investing through the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund £1.87 billion for England's 88 most deprived local authorities-leading to real positive change.

Departmental Food

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what account his Department's food procurement policy takes of animal welfare.

Barbara Follett: Communities and Local Government's (CLG) catering contract specifies that the provider shall take account of and support the Department in fulfilling the objectives of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) guidance for Public Sector Food Procurement Initiatives. The initiative aims to deliver a world class sustainable farming and food sector, including the consideration of animal health and welfare, and provides data on domestically produced food used by, and supplied to Government Departments.
	CLG reports to DEFRA on procurement of food, catering services and catering equipment, indicating the proportion of UK produced supplied from farm assured, organic, Fairtrade and seasonal produce.

Departmental Internet

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people his Department employs to maintain its social media and networking sites; and at what cost in the last 12 months.

Barbara Follett: The Department's social media channels are maintained as part of the routine business of its web team. This has eight full-time, and one part-time, member of staff. The cost in salary terms for maintaining these social media channels has not been disaggregated but only forms a small proportion of the team's work load.

Departmental Senior Civil Servants

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people entered post at each grade of the Senior Civil Service in his Department  (a) on promotion from within and  (b) on recruitment from outside his Department in each year since January 2005.

Barbara Follett: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Senior Civil Servants

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many grade 2 civil servants are employed in his Department.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 29 March 2010
	There are six directors general (SCS pay band 3) civil servants employed in the Department.

Departmental Temporary Employment

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on  (a) agency fees and  (b) salaries of agency staff recruited to work at its headquarters (i) in each financial year since 2004-05 and (ii) in 2009-10 in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many agency staff his Department employed at each grade or equivalent at its headquarters in each year since 2004-05.

Barbara Follett: The Department has published its expenditure on Agency staff, staff substitution and Interim Management for the last three years in its annual reports. The breakdown of  (a) agency fees and  (b) salaries of agency staff could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	For 2006-07 spend (contained in Chapter 10, Table 4 -page 115):
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/corporate/pdf/2007-annual-report.pdf
	For 2007-08 spend (contained in Chapter 10, Table 5 -page 141):
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/corporate/pdf/05.pdf
	For 2008-09 spend (contained in Chapter 10, Table 13 -page 165):
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/corporate/pdf/1281142.pdf
	In the current financial year 2009-10 the indicative spend is £15.1 million as at the end of February 2010. However full out-turn figures will not be available until the early summer when they will be published in the Department's annual report.
	
		
			   AA  AO  EO  HEO  SEO  G6  G7  SCS  HPTO  SPTO  N/A  Total 
			 2004 4 38 9 11 6 1 6 1 1 1 38 116 
			 2005 3 41 20 12 3 0 4 2 1 1 57 144 
			 2006 8 47 30 32 14 1 14 6 1 0 73 226 
			 2007 2 91 65 39 18 4 19 6 0 3 0 247 
			 2008 2 59 107 46 25 19 28 12 2 5 0 305 
			 2009 2 5 14 21 3 3 7 2 0 0 1 58

Departmental Temporary Employment

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many agency and temporary staff his Department employed in each of the last three years.

Barbara Follett: Over the last three years the Department has used several different suppliers to find temporary and agency staff and, the details of the many individual contracts involved can only be disaggregated at a disproportionate cost.
	Details of the Department's staffing levels are published each year in its Annual Report and Resource Accounts, copies of which can be found on its external website:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk

Departmental Temporary Employment

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2010,  Official Report, column 957W, on departmental temporary employment, what the total amount spent on employing temporary staff was in each of the last three years.

Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) today, PQ 322840.

Departmental Translation Services

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on translators in each year since 1997.

Barbara Follett: The Department have spent the following on language interpretation for the last four years. Figures for earlier years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  FY  Amount (£) 
			 2006-07 2,428 
			 2007-08 6,529 
			 2008-09 4,337 
			 2009-10 3,428

Departmental Written Questions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day his Department has answered on the due date in the current session of Parliament.

Barbara Follett: Up to 30 March 2010, the Department had received 368 written questions for answer on a named day of which 303 (82 per cent.) were answered on the due date.

Disadvantaged

Hilary Armstrong: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made on each of the adults facing chronic exclusion pilots, which began in 2007; and which of them have been continued and included in other Government programmes.

Barbara Follett: All 12 of the adults facing chronic exclusion pilots continue to provide support to vulnerable people.
	Two interim reports have been published on the Cabinet Office website, detailing the outcomes for clients; including improvements in accommodation, use of health services and overall wellbeing.
	The complete findings of the ACE pilots-including cost-benefit analysis-are due to be published in the autumn.
	Continued funding has been confirmed for:
	Tyneside Cyrenians
	Turning Point Connected Care
	South West London and St. George's New Directions Team
	Provisional funding has been agreed for:
	NOAH Enterprise, Luton
	Negotiations for the continuation of funding in the remaining eight areas are ongoing.

Housing: Prices

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average cost was of a dwelling purchased by a first-time buyer in  (a) England,  (b) Wales,  (c) each Government Office Region and  (d) each local authority area in (i) 1996-97 and (ii) the most recent period for which figures are available.

John Healey: The latest average mix-adjusted purchase price for first-time buyers from 1993 for England, Wales and Government Office regions are available on the Department's website.
	Since 1997 over 160,000 households have been helped into home ownership through Government schemes. A full breakdown of low cost home ownership provision can be found on the Department's website.

Leasehold Valuation Tribunal

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many cases relating to major works affecting local authority leaseholders have been brought before leasehold valuation tribunals in each year since 2005-06.

John Healey: It is not possible without disproportionate cost to say how many cases relating to major works affecting local authority leaseholders have been brought before leasehold valuation tribunals in each year since 2005-06.

Local Government Finance: Home Care Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the Personal Care at Home Bill's compliance with the new burdens doctrine for local authorities.

Barbara Follett: As with all policies and programmes the Government are committed to assessing the costs to local authorities of the Personal Care at Home Bill. This will be funded through a combination of additional grant and from local authority efficiency savings and will only be introduced from April 2011.
	It is right for local government to help central Government deliver this new commitment. We believe that councils can implement efficiency savings because:
	the costs of delivering local services has fallen, with recent low levels of inflation and affordable pay settlements;
	Budget 2010 announced new measures to free-up local resources by reducing burdens and targets and making reductions in ring-fencing;
	we have made record amounts of investment in local government, with councils receiving £8.6 billion more over the current spending review period.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government of 17 March 2010,  Official Report, column 279WH, on port business rates, what steps have been taken to improve the Valuation Office Agency's fast-track process following his discussions with Treasury Ministers.

Barbara Follett: Under its fast-track arrangements for ratepayers with backdated bills, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has pledged to give an initial response to points raised in a proposal within 10 working days and a final decision within two months in all but the most complex cases. As at 4 November 2009, the VOA statistics show that they have met the fast-track timescales on 97 per cent. of proposals received.
	Where the ratepayer is not in agreement with the decision, the VOA refers appeals to the independent Valuation Tribunal for England (VTE) for early listing. Once a proposal is transferred to the VTE as an appeal, it is outside the fast-track system and falls into the usual appeals process.
	There are currently no plans to amend the fast track process.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fast track reviews of rating assessment of port companies were  (a) initiated and  (b) completed in 2009; how many will continue into 2010-11; how business rates are being collected from companies which have not yet been assessed; and whether such companies are deemed to be listed for business rates.

Barbara Follett: Under the fast-track arrangements for ratepayers with backdated bills, which it introduced on 24 November 2008, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) pledges to give an initial response to points raised about proposal within 10 working days and a final decision within two months in all but the most complex cases.
	Up until 17 March 2010, 1,026 formal challenges have been subject to the fast-track arrangements, of these, 644 have been resolved and 382 are outstanding. 197 have been transmitted as appeals to the valuation tribunal following issue of the valuation officer's considered decision. In practice, although ratepayers and their agents have been invited to support early listing dates, very few have taken this offer up.
	Rates are a tax on properties capable of beneficial occupation. When one appears on the ratings list, its occupier, which may be a business, becomes liable for this tax. All properties that appear on the ratings list are similarly liable and their rates will be collected by the billing authority in the usual way. However, if for any reason, including an exemption, a property does not appear on the ratings list, it means that rates are not being collected in respect of that property.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what procedures were used to implement the separate rating of port companies in each year since 1999; and how many such companies were  (a) visited and  (b) notified of their rating by a representative of the Valuation Office Agency in each year since 1999.

Barbara Follett: The principles concerning separate rateability where there is 'exclusive occupation' and 'paramount control' are long established and predate the ports review as well as the end of prescribed rating. The lead case on this subject is a House of Lords decision which dates back to 1936-Westminster Council  v. Southern Railway Company and W.H. Smith and Son. There was, therefore no 'implementation' of a new separate ratings policy either after or before 1999. In other words, any property, other than a statutory port authority, that met the separate assessment criteria, even before 1999, should have been rated separately.
	The Valuation Office Agency have advised us that since May 2006, it has inspected over 800 properties (hereditaments) within 55 ports in England and Wales as part of the ports review.
	Information was collected from the statutory port operators, ratepayers and through physical inspection of the property. In cases where the information supported separate assessment, the ratepayer was served a notice informing them of the assessment.
	The agency does not maintain records of the number of properties within ports inspected and notified in each year since 1999. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes in rateable values in the 2005-10 Rating Cycle have been provided to port operators as a result of the new regime of retrospective business rates on firms operating in ports.

Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my noble Friend Lord McKenzie of Luton to Lord Bates on 12 November 2009,  Official Report, House of Lords, columns WA208-209.

Opposition

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has undertaken costings of the policies of  (a) the Conservative Party and  (b) the Liberal Democrat Party at the request of Ministers or special advisers in the last 36 months.

Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 30 March 2010,  Official Report, column 1044W.

Planning Permission: Stoke on Trent

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will call in for examination the decision of the Planning Inspectorate on the application for a development sited at Nashe Drive in Stoke-on-Trent South constituency; and if he will examine the consistency of the Inspectorate's decision in this case with the determinations in previous similar cases in the area.

John Healey: Once the decision of the Planning Inspectorate has been issued the Secretary of State cannot call in for his consideration either of the two appeals that have been determined in the Nashe Drive, Stoke on Trent area. The only way that the decision for the change of use to the hot food takeaway which had been refused planning permission could have been reconsidered was if it was successfully challenged in the High Court on a point of law. As the decision was not challenged it is final. The other appeal was allowed subject to conditions.
	In respect of the consistency of the decisions each case would have raised different issues and policy considerations and would have been determined on their own planning merits.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Insulation: Housing

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many homes in Great Britain had cavity walls and no cavity wall insulation at the end of  (a) 2008 and  (b) 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: We estimate that by the end of 2008, approximately 10 million homes in Great Britain had received cavity wall insulation, leaving around 3.5 million homes with cavities still possible to be filled without significant practical difficulties. Approximately 600,000 cavities were treated during 2009, taking the total number of filled cavities to just over 10.5 million and leaving an estimated 2.9 million homes with cavities considered practical to fill. The Government have committed to filling all cavity walls, where practical, by the end of 2015.
	Further information can be found in the 2008 English Housing Survey, and in the Government's recent Warm Homes, Greener Homes strategy and supporting documents.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Batteries: Waste Disposal

Greg Knight: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what guidance his Department issues on the criteria to be applied to assess whether a battery is easily removable from an appliance under the requirements of the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009; and what guidance his Department has issued on whether models of the Apple iPhone on sale in the UK meet such requirements.

Ian Lucas: Government guidance notes to accompany the Batteries and Accumulators (Placing on the Market) Regulations 2008 were published by the Department in August of that year (URN 08/1130). These include an explanation of the requirement for appliances to be designed in such a way as to allow ready removal of their batteries, unless certain conditions relating to, for example, safety or performance, apply.
	The notes also give answers to common questions regarding removability, but do not provide advice on every type of appliance, nor on individual products, such as the Apple iPhone. However, the appointed regulator, the National Measurement Office, has had contact with a number of companies, including Apple, to discuss the processes and procedures they have in place for ensuring compliance with the legislation.

Croydon

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will set out with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the Croydon Central constituency, the effects of his Department's policies on that constituency since 2005.

Ian Lucas: Since 2005, the policies and actions of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (and its predecessors) have focused on building a competitive economy and on delivering prosperity and sustainable economic growth. The implementation of BIS policy in the London borough of Croydon (information is not available specifically for the Croydon Central constituency) has been taken forward primarily by the London Development Agency and Government Office for London, working in partnership with the local authority and other relevant bodies.
	Caution must be exercised in seeking to attribute directly the effects of specific measures on local economic indicators. None the less, examples of how BIS policies and actions have impacted on Croydon include:
	Levels of skills have increased in Croydon since 2005 and remain at around the London and national averages:
	Performance at level 2 has increased from 68.7 per cent. to 71.4 per cent.
	Performance at level 3 has increased from 49.9 per cent. to 53.7 per cent.
	Performance at level 4 has increased from 31.6 per cent. to 35.6 per cent.
	The overall stock of registered businesses in Croydon grew from 9,000 in 2005 to 9,435 in 2007 (latest data available).
	The number of businesses supported by Business Link in London has increased steadily since 2007-08, when it picked up the contract:
	From 4,222 businesses accessing information in 2007-08 to 6,388 in 2009-10
	From 196 businesses receiving intensive assistance in 2007-08 to 369 in 2009-10.

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many designs for its  (a) internal website and  (b) intranet his Department and its predecessors have commissioned since 2005; and what the cost was of each such design.

Ian Lucas: The Department has commissioned four intranet designs since 2005 involving the use of external companies.
	The Human Resources (HR) section of the intranet for the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) was substantially redesigned in 2007/08. The cost of this redesign was £16,653.
	The intranet for the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was designed in-house when DIUS was created in June 2007. The intranet was redesigned in 2008/09 at a cost of £2,800 for the main DIUS intranet and £2,400 for the Government Office for Science (GO-Science) intranet.
	Existing intranet designs were used when BIS was created in June 2009 by merging BERR and DIUS. The BIS intranet was updated in September 2009 at a cost of £6,400. This included the costs of software fixes and improvements. The specific costs for design are not available.
	The BIS intranet is currently being redesigned to improve its accessibility and to provide staff better access to corporate information. The costs for this redesign cannot be provided as the work is not yet complete.

Departmental Video Conferencing

Gregory Barker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2010,  Official Report, column 288W, whether his Department has made an estimate of the comparative  (a) financial cost and  (b) level of carbon dioxide emissions from (i) video conferencing and telepresence and (ii) travel to meetings.

Ian Lucas: At the time of considering the investment for video conferencing and telepresence facilities for the ex-DIUS Department, a cost benefit analysis was carried out which assessed potential benefits through the reduced need for travel between London and Sheffield, the then Department's two main staff locations. This estimated reduced travel for staff members to (up to) four meetings per day, is equivalent to savings of £440,000 per annum when the facilities are fully utilised. The impact on the carbon dioxide emissions directly related to this reduced travel, compared with the use of video conferencing and telepresence, was not directly factored into the original estimates.

Jarvis: Insolvency

John Mann: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will consider the provision of support for retaining the  (a) jobs and  (b) skills of the workforce of Jarvis plc.

Rosie Winterton: The Government regret that, despite the support provided through the HMRC Time To Pay scheme, Jarvis Plc was unable to continue to trade. There are two principal parts of the business, the rail businesses and the Facilities Management services for PFI contracts. With regard to the rail businesses BIS are offering all available support through Jobcentre Plus and the Regional Development Agencies. This support is to help those made redundant back into the workforce, including facilitating contacts with other employers in the Rail Industry, to ensure that, where possible, their valuable skills are retained. For the Facilities Management business we and colleagues in HMT and Partnerships UK are liaising with the Administrators to work towards a smooth transition of the business and staff to new ownership.

Jarvis: Insolvency

John Mann: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Office of Rail Regulation on the entry into administration of Jarvis plc.

Rosie Winterton: I have spoken to Bill Emery, the Office of Rail Regulation's chief executive on 1 April and Ian Prosser, Chief Inspector of Railways and Director of Railway Safety at the Office of Rail Regulation on 7 April.

Post Offices: Bank Services

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the Post Office on the possible establishment of a Post Bank; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Lucas: I refer my hon. Friend to the written statement that my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Business, Innovation and Skills made to the House on 29 March 2010,  Official Report, columns 73-74WS, on the issue of Post Office Banking. This sets out the Government's vision for the future of financial services at the Post Office. The Government's response to the Post Office Banking Consultation, published on the same day, details how the Government and the Post Office will work together to deliver a greatly expanded role for Post Office financial services. Copies of the Government's Response to the Post Office Banking Consultation are available in the Libraries of the House.

Students: Radicalism

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what working groups his Department has which undertake work on combating religious extremism at universities.

David Lammy: There are no formal departmentally-led working groups which undertake work on combating religious extremism at universities, although the Department regularly consults with a range of stakeholders on this issue.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Rural Payments Agency expects to make the payment outstanding to the constituent of the hon. Member for North East Milton Keynes, Mr R. A. Sawbridge, registered with SBI number 106253911 andholding number 0315736.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Processing work on Mr. Sawbridge's 2009 Single Payment Scheme claim is ongoing. The claim value has not yet been finalised as there are issues yet to be resolved connected to earlier entitlement transfer activity.
	It is very difficult to predict when the work will complete to allow payment to be made but the Rural Payments Agency is working hard to ensure all remaining payments are made as soon as possible.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the likely contribution to the effectiveness of his Department's bovine tuberculosis policy of eliminating that disease in wildlife; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether he plans to take steps to  (a) eliminate and  (b) reduce the incidence of bovine tuberculosis in wildlife.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The key issue with bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in wildlife is when the disease is transmitted to livestock.
	The Veterinary Medicines Directorate issued a licence for the injectable badger vaccine on 24 March 2010. Steps are being taken to use this vaccine in badgers through the Badger Vaccine Deployment Project, which will assess and maximise the viability of using the injectable badger vaccine and to help us move towards the long term goal of an oral badger vaccine. Vaccination is not 100 per cent. effective in terms of protection. As with many other disease control strategies, vaccination is a risk reduction measure most likely to be successful in controlling bTB when considered alongside other disease control measures and not in isolation.
	Government's policy is that no licences will be issued for culling badgers for the purpose of preventing the spread of bTB in cattle, although we remain open to the possibility of revisiting this policy under exceptional circumstances, or if new scientific evidence were to become available.

Bovine Tuberculosis: South West

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms in  (a) the south-west and  (b) Torridge and West Devon constituency were under bovine tuberculosis restrictions on the latest date for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The latest data from VetNet shows that there were 2,409 herds under restriction in the Government office for the south-west county region (Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Isles of Scilly, Somerset, Wiltshire) during the 12 months up to 31 December 2009. Of this figure 1,017 were from Devon.
	DEFRA is unable to give data for areas smaller than county level and is therefore unable to provide data for Torridge and West Devon.
	Please note that data downloaded from the VetNet system are provisional and subject to change as more data become available.

Bovine Tuberculosis: South West

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle in  (a) the south-west and  (b) Torridge and West Devon constituency have been slaughtered under his Department's bovine tuberculosis prevention policy in the last 12 months.

Jim Fitzpatrick: There were 16,230 cattle slaughtered under bovine tuberculosis measures in the Government office for the south-west county region (Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Isles of Scilly, Somerset, Wiltshire) during the 12 months up to 31 December 2009. Of this number 6,863 were from Devon.
	DEFRA is unable to give data for areas smaller than county level and is therefore unable to provide data for Torridge and West Devon.
	Please note that data downloaded from the VetNet system are provisional and subject to change as more data become available.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how  (a) the UK and  (b) the EU voted on each agenda item at the recent CITES conference of parties in Doha.

Huw Irranca-Davies: While the majority of items discussed at the 15 Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Doha were agreed by consensus after discussions, several were voted upon. The following table indicates which these were and how the UK and the EU voted on each of those occasions. In all but one instance the UK and the EU votes were the same. The voting record is as follows:
	
		
			  Agenda item  Vote 
			UK EU 
			 18. Review of Resolutions
			  Annex 10: Conf. 12.2 - Procedure for approval of externally funded projects  Vote in plenary to reopen debate 
			No No 
			 19. Review of Decisions  Vote in Committee II on Decision 14.81 
			No No 
			 41. Applications to register operations that breed Appendix-I animal species in captivity for commercial purposes
			  41.1 Consideration of operations subject to an objection   
			   Annex 1: Application from Birds International, Inc. (Philippines) to register Amazona barbadensis Vote in Committee II 
			Abstain Abstain 
			   Annex 2: Application from Birds International, Inc. (Philippines) to register Ara ambigua Vote in Committee II 
			Abstain Abstain 
			   Annex 3: Application from Birds International, Inc. (Philippines) to register Ara macao Vote in Committee II 
			Abstain Abstain 
			   Annex 4: Application from Birds International, Inc. (Philippines) to register Cacatua sulphurea abbotti Vote in Committee II 
			Abstain Abstain 
			Vote in Plenary 
			Yes Yes 
			   Annex 5: Application from Birds International, Inc. (Philippines) to register Cacatua sulphurea citrinocristata Vote in Committee II 
			Abstain Abstain 
			Vote in Plenary 
			Yes Yes 
			   Annex 6: Application from Birds International, Inc. (Philippines) to register Cacatua sulphurea sulphurea Vote in Committee II 
			Abstain Abstain 
			Vote in Plenary 
			Yes Yes 
			   Annex 7: Application from Birds International, Inc. (Philippines) to register Cacatua moluccensis Vote in Committee II 
			Abstain Abstain 
			Vote in Plenary 
			Yes Yes 
			   Annex 12: Application from Pacific Northwest Falcons (United States) to register Falco rusticolus and F. peregrinus x F. rusticolus Vote in Committee II 
			Yes Yes 
			   Annex 13: Application from David Knutson (United States) to register Falco peregrinus Vote in Committee II 
			Yes Yes 
			   Annex 14: Application from Hollister Longwings (United States) to register Falco rusticolus, F. peregrinus and F. rusticolus x F. peregrinus Vote in Committee II 
			Yes Yes 
			  41.2 Request from the Philippines regarding Birds International (Philippines) Vote in Committee II 
			Abstain Abstain 
			 53. Conservation and management of sharks and stingrays  Vote in Committee I 
			Yes Yes 
			 68. Proposals to amend Appendices I and II
			  2 Lynx rufus (United States of America) Bobcat Vote in Committee I 
			No No 
			  3 Ursus maritimus (United States of America) Polar bear Vote in Committee I 
			No No 
			  4 Loxodonta africana (United Republic of Tanzania) Vote in Committee I on downlisting 
			   African elephant Abstain Abstain 
			Vote in Committee I on allowing one off ivory sale 
			No No 
			Vote in Plenary on downlisting only 
			Abstain Abstain 
			  5 Loxodonta africana (Zambia) African elephant NB After the vote against allowing a one-off sale of ivory in Tanzania, Zambia withdrew its application for a one-off sale Vote in Committee I on downlisting 
			Abstain Abstain 
			Vote in Plenary on downlisting 
			Abstain Abstain 
			  6 Loxodonta africana (Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mali and Sierra Leone) African elephant Vote in Committee I 
			No No 
			  9 Crocodylus niloticus (Egypt) Nile crocodile Vote in Committee I 
			No No 
			Reopened in Plenary 
			Adopted by consensus  
			  10 Uromastyx ornata (Israel) Ornate Dabb lizard Withdrawn 
			  15 Sphyrna lewini Sphyrna mokarran Sphyrna zygaena Carcharhinus plumbeus Carcharhinus obscurus (Palau and the United States of America) Sharks Vote in Committee I 
			Yes Yes 
			Vote in Plenary 
			Yes Yes 
			  16 Carcharhinus longimanus (Palau and the United States of America) Whitetip shark Vote in Committee I 
			Yes Yes 
			  17 Lamna nasus (Palau and Sweden(1)) Porbeagle Vote in Committee I 
			Yes Yes 
			Vote in Plenary 
			Yes Yes 
			  18 Squalus acanthias (Palau and Sweden(1)) Spiny dogfish Vote in Committee I 
			Yes Yes 
			  19 Thunnus thynnus (Monaco) Vote in Committee I on EU proposal 
			   Bluefin tuna Yes Yes 
			Vote in Committee I on original Monaco proposal 
			Yes Abstain 
			  21 Coralliidae Corallium spp. and Paracorallium spp.) (Sweden(1) and the United States of America) Red and pink corals Vote in Committee I 
			Yes Yes 
			 (1) On behalf of the European Community member states acting in the interest of the European Community.

Croydon

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Croydon, Central constituency, the effects on that constituency of his Department's policies since 2005.

Dan Norris: Due to the broad nature of the question and the wide range of DEFRA policies implemented in Croydon, Central, it is not possible to provide a detailed answer in the form requested.
	Croydon, Central is obliged through statute to comply with central Government legislation. DEFRA's policy responsibilities are summarised in its departmental strategic objectives (DSOs) that have been agreed with the Treasury:
	To promote a society that is adapting to the effects of climate change, through a national programme of action and a contribution to international action.
	To promote a healthy, resilient, productive and diverse natural environment.
	To promote sustainable, low carbon and resource efficient patterns of consumption and production.
	To promote an economy and a society that are resilient to environmental risk.
	To champion sustainable development.
	To promote a thriving farming and food sector with an improving net environmental impact.
	To encourage a sustainable, secure and healthy food supply.
	To provide socially and economically sustainable rural communities.
	To be a respected Department delivering efficient and high quality services and outcomes.
	DEFRA publishes annual departmental reports which set out progress against its Public Service Agreement targets and DSOs. The 2009 Report is available at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/about/reports/documents/2009-deptreport.pdf
	Past reports are available online in the National Archives.
	For information on a specific DEFRA policy in Croydon Central, the Government Office for the South East is able to provide information on implementation and the benefits to the area.

Departmental Food

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what account his Department's food procurement policy takes of animal welfare.

Jim Fitzpatrick: DEFRA has worked over a number of years to provide guidance to Departments on incorporating sustainable development objectives into their food procurement operations. This explicitly includes issues of animal welfare.
	We strongly encourage the procurement of products that meet higher animal welfare standards wherever possible. DEFRA has been working at ministerial level to encourage the public sector to procure food to the highest possible standards.
	In February this year new guidance was published, advising public sector procurers how to incorporate an additional contract award criterion for pork, bacon and other pigmeat products. This is aimed at improving the quality of the products procured and asks procurers to ensure that supply tenders are able to offer pigmeat products that comply with certain welfare and animal health standards.

Farms

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farm holdings there were in each agricultural sector in each county in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I have placed the information requested in the Library of the House.
	The data can also be found on the DEFRA website
	www.defra.gov.uk
	at the following address
	www.defra.gov.uk/evidence/statistics/foodfarm/landuselivestock/junesurvey/results.htm

Food: Imports

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the quality standards of food proposed to be imported to the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: I have been asked to reply.
	We have been advised by the Food Standards Agency that official controls are in place to monitor food imports from countries outside the European Union (EU) and to ensure it is safe. Products of animal origin such as meat from approved countries outside the EU must come from approved establishments. Such products must enter the United Kingdom through designated Border Inspection Posts under the control of veterinary inspectors, where they undergo documentary and identity checks, and a prescribed proportion are subject to physical checks which may include testing for contaminants.
	Food of non-animal origin is also subject to checks by authorised officers and, in addition, depending on its source and whether it is regarded as high risk, may undergo stringent checks to ensure it is safe for human consumption.

Food: Marketing

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to require more accurate information on the country of origin to be displayed on food products; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: I have been asked to reply.
	Origin labelling is required on certain foods and in cases where not to inform the consumer of origin may mislead them. In cases where voluntary origin information is provided this must be accurate and the Food Standards Agency has had best practice guidance in place since 2002 recommending labelling formats that are meaningful to consumers.
	The Government have been encouraging even greater clarity, an example of which is the new voluntary industry Code of Practice on the labelling of pork and pork products which resulted from the Government's Pig Meat Supply Chain Task Force - a supply chain-wide group, facilitated by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
	In addition, origin labelling rules are being discussed in the European Union as part of a proposal for a new Food Information Regulation. The Government are pressing in these discussions for greater clarity of information when origin claims are made.

Potatoes: Morocco

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with  (a) his counterparts in devolved Administrations,  (b) the European Commission and  (c) the Government of Morocco on the recent impounding of seed potatoes exported from the UK to Morocco and the rejection of consignments due to contamination with common scab and silver scurf; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had on the dispute between the EU and Morocco on the import of tomatoes and the imposition by Morocco of trade restrictions on the export of seed potatoes to that country.

Jim Fitzpatrick: There have been discussions at official level between England, Scotland and Northern Ireland about the Moroccan rejection of consignments of seed potatoes from the UK. The problems have arisen because of a change in interpretation and inspection practices in Morocco regarding potato skin problems of traded seed potatoes. Although in making these changes the Moroccan authorities have acted within their sovereign rights, it is disappointing that there was no prior notification.
	Officials have visited Morocco to discuss the problem and the British embassy and EU missions to Morocco have been involved. The European Commission and officials from member states have discussed the issue with Morocco in the margins of an international meeting and have agreed to establish a working group to discuss and agree consistent application of inspection methods in future years.
	I am not aware of any current trade dispute between EU and Morocco in respect of the import of tomatoes. This trade is carefully monitored by the European Commission.

Renewable Energy: Waste

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which energy-from-waste facilities of each type received planning permission in the last three years; and what the location was of each.

John Healey: holding answer 6 April 2010
	I have been asked to reply.
	The total numbers of planning decisions (including permissions and refusals) for England relating to applications for waste facilities that may include energy recovery are published in table 3.4 of the Statistical Release on Annual Development Control, England, 2008-09. This is available on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/developmentcontrol200809
	The following table provides a further breakdown for most recent available year, 2008-09, showing the numbers of applications granted and the location of each of these applications by local planning authority. These figures are as reported by local planning authorities to Communities and Local Government.
	
		
			  Application Type  LA name  Number of applications granted in 2008-09 
			  Incineration with energy recovery - 12 
			  Bedfordshire 1 
			  Devon 1 
			  Hampshire 1 
			  Herefordshire 1 
			  Kingston upon Hull 1 
			  London Thames Gateway Development Corporation 1 
			  North Lincolnshire 1 
			  Northamptonshire 2 
			  Nottinghamshire 1 
			  Shropshire 1 
			  West Berkshire 1 
			
			  Anaerobic digestion - 12 
			  Bedfordshire 1 
			  Devon 2 
			  Durham 1 
			  Northamptonshire 5 
			  Oxfordshire 2 
			  West Sussex 1 
			
			  Pyrolysis - 3 
			  Bedfordshire 1 
			  North Yorkshire 1 
			  Wiltshire 1 
			
			 Total - 27

River Lymington: Ferries

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if he will replace Wightlink as the competent authority in the Lymington river for the purposes of constructing an impact assessment of the new ferries; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when he plans to respond to the e-mail from Michael Derrick of the Lymington River Association on the position of Wightlink as the competent authority for ferry operations.

Huw Irranca-Davies: There are no provisions in the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010, which came into force on 1 April, that enable a competent authority to be replaced.
	Officials wrote to Michael Derrick on 6 April to confirm this.

Slaughterhouses

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions have been brought for breaches of slaughterhouse regulations in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of prosecutions cases brought by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for breaches of slaughterhouses regulations, by financial year, is as follows:
	
		
			   Number of cases 
			 2007-08 22 
			 2008-09 5 
			 2009-10 2 
		
	
	Information in relation to each of the years from 2005 to 2007 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Slaughterhouses

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many reports his Department received of breaches of regulations governing slaughtering practices in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Breaches of regulations involving the welfare of animals at slaughter or killing on farm are investigated by Animal Health on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The number of breaches that were reported to Animal Health in each of the last five calendar years were:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2005 45 
			 2006 29 
			 2007 19 
			 2008 24 
			 2009 12 
		
	
	Where slaughter takes place in a slaughterhouse, enforcement is undertaken by the Meat Hygiene Service. The number of cases referred to DEFRA Legal Services in the last five years (April to March) were:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2005-06 29 
			 2006-07 34 
			 2007-08 17 
			 2008-09 7 
			 2009-10 5

Slaughterhouses

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent reviews his Department has undertaken of the effectiveness of regulations governing slaughtering practices.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Slaughter practices involving the welfare of animals are currently governed by the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995 (WASK) as amended. These regulations implement Council Directive 93/119/EC. This directive was reviewed by the Commission in 2008 and 2009 and as a result Council Regulation EC No. 1099/2009 was made on 24 September 2009. This regulation will apply from 1 January 2013 and will replace directive 93/119.
	The new regulation will be directly applicable in the UK and requires every member state to establish penalties for infringements. We are currently reviewing how this will impact on WASK and will be consulting on the legislative changes required at the appropriate time.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Billy Wright Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Wright Inquiry has spent on IT since its inception.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Billy Wright Inquiry that the Inquiry has spent £7.15 million on information technology since its inception.

Billy Wright Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Wright Inquiry has spent on IT consultants since its inception.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Billy Wright Inquiry that the Inquiry has spent £951,000 on IT consultants since its inception.

Billy Wright Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the budget is of the press office for the Wright Inquiry in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Billy Wright Inquiry that it does not have a press office or employ a press officer. Therefore the Billy Wright Inquiry does not have a budget for a press office in either of financial years 2009-10 or 2010-11.

Billy Wright Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people the Wright Inquiry has employed in each post in each month since its inception.

Shaun Woodward: From October 2004, there has been one civil servant working as solicitor to the Inquiry.
	The following staff changes have occurred:
	In February 2005, a secretary to the Inquiry was recruited.
	In April 2005, a deputy solicitor to the Inquiry was recruited.
	In June 2005, an assistant solicitor was recruited.
	In July 2006, the assistant solicitor ended his secondment and returned to his home department.
	In November 2006, a document evidence manager and a finance accommodation officer were recruited.
	In April 2007, two personal secretaries were recruited.
	In May 2007, a witness liaison manager was recruited.
	In November 2007, an assistant solicitor was recruited.
	In March 2009, the finance and accommodation officer ended his secondment and returned to his home department.
	In March 2009, one of the personal secretaries ended her secondment and returned to her home department.
	In September 2009, one of the personal secretaries resigned from her home department and ended her secondment.
	In September 2009, the assistant solicitor ended her secondment and returned to her home department.
	In December 2009, the document evidence manager retired.
	In March 2010, the solicitor to the Inquiry retired.

Bloody Sunday Tribunal of Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Saville Inquiry has spent on virtual reality technology since its inception.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Bloody Sunday Inquiry that it has spent approximately £106,000 on virtual reality technology.

Bloody Sunday Tribunal of Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Saville Inquiry has spent on IT since its inception.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Bloody Sunday Inquiry that it has spent approximately £34.3 million on information technology to the end of February 2010, including £2.2 million on information technology consultancy costs.

Bloody Sunday Tribunal of Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Saville Inquiry has spent on accommodation since its inception.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Bloody Sunday Inquiry that it has spent approximately £26.2 million on accommodation (including hire of venues for inquiry hearings plus office and private accommodation).

Bloody Sunday Tribunal of Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in each role the Saville Inquiry has employed in each month since its inception.

Shaun Woodward: The Bloody Sunday Inquiry does not directly employ staff. The inquiry has engaged a number of people on loan or secondment from Government Departments/agencies to undertake specific posts and roles. A number of other people have been issued with NIO fixed-term contracts to work with the inquiry.
	Over its lifespan, the number of staff in the inquiry peaked at 38 during hearings in April 2003. Posts included the secretary and deputy secretary to the inquiry, five inquiry solicitors one costs solicitor, one assistant solicitor, one press officer, one assistant press officer, three legal assistants, two researchers, six witness liaison, one finance assistant, one archivist, two personal assistants and 12 administrative support staff.
	The inquiry has since reduced its complement to six staff, including the Secretary to the inquiry (part-time), deputy secretary, finance assistant, personal assistant to the chairman, IT assistant (part-time) and an administrative officer.
	The inquiry also holds contracts with employment agencies for the provision of temporary staff for administration services. These have not been included in this response, as their employer is the temporary staff agency.

Bloody Sunday Tribunal of Inquiry

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will set a date beyond which no further invoices or accounts for legal work in connection with the Saville Inquiry will be accepted.

Shaun Woodward: I have proposed to fund legal representation at public expense for Interested Parties provided with advance sight of the report on the day of publication. A protocol governing the scope of this work is being developed, including a time limit for the receipt of invoices.

Departmental Books

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department has spent on books for its libraries in each of the last five years; and which books were purchased.

Shaun Woodward: Expenditure and a list of the books purchased in each of the last five years by the Northern Ireland Office, including its arm's length bodies and the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland but excluding its agencies and NDPBs, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Lost Property

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what property has been recorded as  (a) lost and  (b) stolen from his Department in the last 12 months; and what estimate has been made of the cost of the replacement of that property.

Paul Goggins: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given on 16 March 2010,  Official Report, column 731W.

Festivals and Special Occasions

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department has spent on events to mark  (a) St. Patrick's Day and  (b) the Twelfth of July in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO), including its arms length bodies and the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland but excluding its agencies and NDPBs, has not incurred any spend in the past five years on marking either St. Patrick's Day or the Twelfth of July.

Robert Hamill Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Hamill Inquiry has spent on IT since its inception.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Robert Hamill Inquiry that it has spent £6.35 million on information technology since its inception.

Robert Hamill Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Hamill Inquiry has spent on IT consultants since its inception.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Robert Hamill Inquiry that it has spent £942,000 on IT consultants since its inception.

Robert Hamill Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the budget is of the press office for the Hamill Inquiry in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Robert Hamill Inquiry that the budget of the press office for the inquiry in financial year 2009-10 is £57,509 and in financial year 2010 it is £21,387.

Robert Hamill Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people the Hamill Inquiry has employed in each role in each month since its inception.

Shaun Woodward: From November 2004 there have been two civil servants working as secretary and solicitor to the inquiry.
	The following staff changes have been made:
	In January 2005, a deputy solicitor, assistant solicitor and deputy secretary were recruited.
	In February 2005, a finance officer was recruited.
	In March 2005, a higher executive officer and administrator were recruited.
	In August 2005, the deputy secretary was released.
	In November 2005, the deputy solicitor and assistant solicitor were released.
	In January 2006, the administrator was released and a deputy solicitor was recruited.
	In September 2006, the deputy solicitor was released and an assistant solicitor was recruited.
	In January 2007, a finance/administration officer was recruited.
	In May 2007, a deputy solicitor was recruited.
	In July 2007, the assistant solicitor was released.
	In September 2007, the secretary was released and the solicitor took on the secretarial role.
	In January 2008, a witness information officer (50 per cent. full-time employment), a personal assistant (75 per cent. full-time employment) were recruited, and the finance officer moved to 50 per cent. full-time employment.
	In February 2008, the witness information manager and personal assistant became full-time, and the 50 per cent. FTE finance officer was released.
	In April 2008, a senior finance officer was recruited.
	In July 2008, a witness team member (50 per cent. FTE) was recruited.
	In August 2008, the witness team member became full-time.
	In November 2008, an assistant to counsel was recruited.
	In April 2009, an Information and Legal Liaison Officer was recruited.
	In October 2009, the assistant to counsel, witness information officer and witness team member were released.

Rosemary Nelson Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Nelson Inquiry has spent on IT since its inception.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry that the inquiry has spent £7.08 million on information technology since its inception.

Rosemary Nelson Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Nelson Inquiry has spent on IT consultants since its inception.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry that the inquiry has spent £1.23 million on IT consultancy from its inception.

Rosemary Nelson Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the budget is of the press office for the Nelson Inquiry in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry that the inquiry uses one press officer on an ad-hoc basis. In the financial year 2009-10 the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry has no budget for a press office, and for the financial year 2010-11 has budgeted £14,100 for this function.

Rosemary Nelson Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people the Nelson Inquiry has employed in each post in each month since its inception.

Shaun Woodward: From November 2004, there have been two civil servants working at the inquiry, acting as solicitor and secretary to the inquiry. The following staff changes have occurred:
	In January 2005, two legal support officers, an evidence manager, a finance officer and an admin support officer were recruited.
	In February 2005, a deputy secretary was recruited.
	In March 2005, a deputy solicitor was recruited.
	In May 2005, a finance manager was recruited.
	In June 2005, one legal support officer was released and a second finance officer recruited.
	In September 2005, an admin support officer was released.
	In October 2005, one finance officer was released.
	In November 2005, the evidence manager was released and one legal support officer was recruited.
	In December 2005 one assistant solicitor, one legal support officer and one admin support officer were recruited.
	In January 2006, one legal support officer was recruited.
	In April 2006, a second assistant solicitor was recruited.
	In August 2006, a team secretary was recruited.
	In January 2007, a bundle manager was recruited.
	In February 2007, an admin support officer was released.
	In March 2007, one legal support officer was released.
	In April 2007, three legal support officers were recruited.
	In August 2007, an admin support officer was recruited.
	In September 2007, a finance officer was released.
	In October 2007, an assistant solicitor and a legal support officer were released.
	In January 2008, an admin support officer was released and a writer/researcher was recruited.
	In March 2008, an admin support officer was recruited.
	In April 2008, one legal support officer was released.
	In June 2008, a finance officer, one legal support officer and a witness co-ordinator were recruited.
	In July 2008, one legal support officer and a witness co-ordinator were released.
	In August 2008, an admin support officer was recruited.
	In November 2008, a team secretary and a bundle manager were released.
	In March 2009, a legal support officer was released.
	In June 2009, an admin support officer, a legal support officer and a finance co-ordinator were released.
	In July 2009, an admin support officer and the deputy secretary were released, and an archivist was recruited.
	In September 2009, the secretary and a legal support officer were released.
	In November 2009, a witness co-ordinator was released.

Smuggling: Fuel Oil

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been convicted of offences relating to  (a) fuel smuggling and  (b) fuel laundering in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I have been asked to reply.
	In 2008-09, 10 people were convicted of hydrocarbon oil offences in Northern Ireland. The legislation that covers the evasion or attempted evasion of duty on hydrocarbon oil is the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, and this covers both fuel smuggling and fuel laundering offences.
	Tackling fuel crime is a key priority for the Government. HM Revenue and Customs works in close partnership with other law enforcement agencies within the Organised Crime Task Force to disrupt fuel smugglers and launderers, bring them before the courts and confiscate their illegally acquired assets.

Ulster Scots Language

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what publications funded by his Department use the Ulster Scots language; and what the cost to the public purse was of providing such documents in the latest period for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has not funded any publications in the Ulster Scots language.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Croydon

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Croydon, Central constituency, the effects on that constituency of her Department's policies since 2005.

Jonathan R Shaw: DWP leads the Government's response to some of the biggest issues facing the country-welfare and pension reform-and is a key player in tackling child poverty(1). As the biggest delivery Department in the UK, DWP makes a difference to millions of people every day, helping them to lead safer, fairer and more rewarding lives that are free from poverty. We want to give people more choice and control over their lives and are committed to providing greater choice and personalised support to everyone who needs it so they have the opportunity to get into and remain in work. We believe that work works. Even in economically challenging times we know that work works for the most vulnerable and the disadvantaged.
	 Support to find work
	Through Jobcentre Plus, we are promoting work as the best form of welfare for people of working age. Since February 2005, the number of people unemployed in Croydon, Central has increased by 66 per cent. to 3,365 and the number unemployed for more than one year has increased by 70 per cent. to 375. From August 2005 to August 2009 the number of lone parents claiming income support in Croydon, Central has fallen by 15 per cent. to 2,720.
	Our new deals have helped lone parents, the young unemployed, the long-term unemployed, disabled people, the over-50s and partners of unemployed people to move from benefit into work. Since their inception over 2.2 million people in Great Britain have found work with the support of the new deal, and 2,330 have been helped in Croydon, Central.
	 Support for children
	We introduced a target to halve child poverty by 2010-11 on the way to eradicating it by 2020. Poverty is measured using a headline indicator of the proportion of children in households with an income below 60 per cent. of contemporary household median income before housing costs. This is in line with international best practice.
	Statistics on the numbers of children living in poverty are not available at the constituency level.
	 Support for older people
	Since 1997 our strategy has been to target help on the poorest pensioners while providing a solid foundation of support for all.
	This year we will be spending over £13 billion more on pensioners than if we had continued with the policies that were in place in 1997. Around half of that money will go to the poorest third of pensioners.
	In 1997 the poorest pensioners, who received income support, lived on £69 a week (£98 in today's prices). Today pension credit, which was introduced in 2003, means no pensioner needs to live on less than £130 a week, £198.45 for couples. As of August 2009, 4,860 pensioners in Croydon, Central are benefiting from pension credit.
	In 2007-08 there were 900,000 fewer pensioners living in relative poverty in UK compared to 1998-99 (measured as below 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income after housing costs).
	Statistics on the proportion of pensioners living in relative poverty are not available at constituency level, and Government office region level data are only available as three-year averages. The London Government office region can however be split into inner and outer London. The latest data for outer London cover the period 2005-08, and show that around 100,000 pensioners (or 19 per cent.) are in poverty (measured as below 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income after housing costs)(2).
	Pensioners in the UK also benefit from a range of additional support such as the winter fuel payment which for winter 2009-10 is worth £250 for households with someone aged between 60-79 and £400 for households with someone aged 80 or over. These payments provide vital reassurance to older people that they can afford to turn up their heating during cold weather. Prior to winter 1997-98 less than £60 million per year was spent helping pensioners meet their fuel bills-we now spend around £2.7 billion on winter fuel payments alone. In winter 2008-09 (the last winter for which information is available) 19,360 people aged 60 and over benefited from winter fuel payments in Croydon, Central.
	We have also taken steps to strengthen and protect the private pensions system to ensure people can continue to have confidence to save for their future through the establishment of the Pensions Protection Fund, the Financial Assistance Scheme and a more powerful and proactive pensions regulator.
	The protection system ensures that, unlike in 1997, people are not left without a pension even in the event that their employer becomes insolvent.
	As at end of February a total of 516 people in the London Government office region are receiving compensation from the Pension Protection Fund (data not available at constituency level).(3)
	We have also taken forward a radical package of pension reforms in the Pensions Acts of 2007 and 2008 which will deliver a fairer and more generous state pension and extend the opportunity of workplace pension saving to millions, many for the first time.
	The state pension reforms begin to come into effect from 2010 and will mean around three quarters of women reaching state pension age in 2010 are expected to qualify for a full basic state pension compared to half without reform.
	 Support for disabled people and carers
	Since 2001, we have significantly extended and improved civil rights for disabled people in areas such as employment, education, access to goods and services and transport. Disabled people in Croydon, Central will have benefited from these improvements. The Welfare Reform Act 2009 contains powers to increase choice and control for disabled adults, including disabled parents who are entitled to state support, enabling them to choose how certain state support is used to meet their individual needs. This will be trailblazed in eight local authority sites from late 2010. Older and less well off carers have gained extra help through the provisions within the National Carers Strategy.
	(1) The Department for Work and Pensions was created in 2001 and so information relates to the Department and its predecessors.
	(2) Numbers arc shown rounded to the nearest 100,000. Percentages are shown rounded to the nearest whole percentage point.
	(3) Regional information about assistance payments received by members from the Financial Assistance Scheme could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental ICT

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what disruption there has been to her Department's  (a) Fraud Referral and Intervention Management System,  (b) electronic records management and  (c) Customer Information System since 22 January 2010.

Jim Knight: The information is as follows:
	 (a) Since 22 January 2010 there have been six instances of disruption to the FRAIMS system. The periods of disruption were:
	26 and 27 January-one hour each time
	2 and 3 February-one hour each time
	16 February-20 minutes
	24 February-one hour
	2 and 3 March-one hour each time
	15 and 16 March-one hour each time.
	 (b) There has been no disruption to ERM since 22 January 2010.
	 (c) There has been no disruption to the Customer Information System since 22 January 2010.

Departmental ICT

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what testing of her Department's pensions uprating system was undertaken prior to its introduction on 26 March 2010; and what assessment she has made of the results.

Angela Eagle: The computer system that pays state pension is updated annually to reflect the new rates payable from the following tax year. This year the rates were entered in December 2009 ahead of notifications being issued to customers from the beginning of this year. The rates are checked by the Pension, Disability and Carers Service and DWP Corporate IT before being uploaded on the system and a sample of the notifications were checked prior to distribution to customers. The new rates will be payable from 12 April 2010.

Departmental ICT

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether her Department has issued letters containing incorrect information to recipients of  (a) basic state pension and  (b) child benefit since 22 January 2010.

Angela Eagle: The Department for Work and Pensions and the Pension Disability and Carers Service write to vast numbers of our pensioner customers each day and we do our best to ensure that each and every letter is accurate. However, it is inevitable that from time to time errors do occur; when they do, we do our best to provide the correct information as soon as possible after the error is identified.
	Child benefit is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Departmental Recruitment

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2010,  Official Report, column 1313W, on departmental consultants, what the monetary value of contracts was held by  (a) her Department and  (b) its (i) agencies and (ii) non-departmental public bodies with external recruitment consultants for the recruitment of temporary and permanent staff in each of the last three years.

Jim Knight: The spend on external recruitment consultants by the Department, its agencies and NDPBs in the last three financial years is as follows:
	
		
			  Spend (£ million) 
			  Period  DWP and  a gencies  NDPBs  Total 
			 April 2009 to February 2010 (to date) 10.0 2.7 12.7 
			 April 2008 to March 2009 2.9 2.7 5.6 
			 April 2007 to March 2008 0.9 1.9 2.8 
		
	
	Separation of DWP spend from that of its agencies could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.
	These figures should be seen in the context of a total staff count of over 100,000.
	The spend in the period April 2009 to February 2010 was unusually high reflecting the need to quickly recruit over 15,000 additional staff into Jobcentre Plus to meet the extra demands created by the economic downturn. This action has paid off; Unemployment is now expected to be around 700,000 lower in 2010 than in the Budget 2009. The savings in benefits across the five years 2010-11 to 2014-15 compared with what was assumed at Budget 2009 is around £14 billion. This includes spend relating to housing benefit and council tax benefit as well as jobseeker's allowance. I expect the spend on external recruitment consultants for 2010-11 to be substantially lower.
	The Department advertises all vacancies through Jobcentre Plus in addition to other methods. In line with common practice, we will incur expenditure when our recruitment involves an element of specialist executive search. The use of external agencies allows the Department to access the networking and contact with senior executives in different disciplines and organisations outside of the civil service.

Disability Living Allowance: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of people were in receipt of the  (a) care and  (b) mobility component of the disability living allowance in (i) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (ii) the London borough of Bexley in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: The available information is in the table.
	
		
			  Disability living  a llowance: Cases in payment and percentage of population by award type, as at August 2009 for Bexleyheath and Crayford parliamentary constituency and the London borough of Bexley 
			Disability living allowance-Care  Disability living allowance-Mobility 
			   Total  Higher rate  Middle rate  Lower rate  Nil rate  Higher rate  Lower rate  Nil rate 
			 Bexleyheath and Crayford parliamentary constituency 3,620 840 1,370 850 560 1,980 1,220 420 
			 Bexleyheath and Crayford-percentage of population 4.3 1.0 1.6 1.0 0.7 2.3 1.4 0.5 
			 London borough of Bexley 9,150 2,070 3,390 2,280 1,410 4,960 3,080 1,110 
			 London borough of Bexley-percentage of population 4.1 0.9 1.5 1.0 0.6 2.2 1.4 0.5 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital. 3. Office for National Statistics' population estimate mid 2007 for Bexleyheath and Crayford parliamentary constituency is 84,826; and for the London borough of Bexley, the population estimate 2008 is 223,300.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Pension, Disability and Carers Service: Newcastle upon Tyne

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the annual operating cost of the Benefits Agency in Newcastle was in the latest year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Benefits Agency was replaced by Jobcentre Plus and the Pension Service in 2002; the latter has since become part of the Pension Disability and Carers Service.
	Both Jobcentre Plus and the Pension Disability and Carers Service are national organisations with centralised head office functions and centrally held contracts; their financial systems do not record total operating costs in the format you have requested.

Pensioners: Means-tested Benefits

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of those over the age of  (a) 60,  (b) 65 and  (c) 70 years were in receipt of means-tested benefits in each year since 1997.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 10 March 2010
	As a claimant can be in receipt of more than one benefit, and the total number of claimants receiving one or more means-tested benefits is not available, it is not possible to derive the number or percentage of people receiving means tested benefits from the available information.

Personal Injury: Compensation

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what steps the Compensation Recovery Unit takes to check the validity of the National Insurance number of claimants;
	(2)  what steps the Compensation Recovery Unit takes  (a) to verify the identity of claimants and  (b) to eliminate claims made under fictitious names;
	(3)  what discussions the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) has had with the National Fraud Strategic Authority on steps to reduce the number of fraudulent claims made to the CRU;
	(4)  what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Compensation Recovery Unit in dealing with fraudulent claims; and if she will make a statement;
	(5)  on how many occasions the Compensation Recovery Unit has notified insurance providers of fraudulent claims in each of the last five years;
	(6)  how many  (a) claims the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) has dealt with and  (b) fraudulent claims the CRU has identified in each of the last five years;
	(7)  on how many occasions the Compensation Recovery Unit found the National Insurance number in a claim submitted by an insurance company to be  (a) false or incorrect and  (b) not to match the name given in the last five years.

Helen Goodman: When an insurance company advises Compensation Recovery Unit of a claim to compensation they are not legally bound to supply a National Insurance number. However, they are required to provide sufficient information to ensure that the Department can trace the benefit records of the appropriate person. Compensation Recovery Unit is able to trace and validate the appropriate person's personal details, including their national insurance number, through the Department's central data repository, the Customer Information System (CIS).
	Claims, fraudulent or otherwise, are not made to the Compensation Recovery Unit. The Compensation Recovery Unit is there to recover money paid out in benefit as a result of any accident, injury or disease which is covered by an award of compensation or any ambulance or hospital treatment charges incurred as a result of an accident or injury.
	A compensator, usually an insurance company, must notify the Compensation Recovery Unit of a compensation claim so that the Department can take steps to reclaim any benefits paid or ambulance/hospital charges where appropriate.

Remploy: Consultants

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which consultants have been engaged by Remploy since March 2008; and what the cost of engaging them has been.

Jonathan R Shaw: A list of consultants that have been engaged by Remploy since March 2008 is provided in the following list. Total spending by Remploy on consultants between April 2008 and the end of February 2010 was £5.28 million.
	This expenditure reflects the additional costs of implementing Remploy's five-year modernisation plan including new IT infrastructure; the growth of Remploy's Employment Services branch network to meet Remploy's modernisation target to increase the number of disabled people into work to 20,000 by the end of 2012-13; and to deliver new contracts including the Flexible New Deal. The company expects the figures from 2010-11 to be substantially lower.
	 Consultants engaged by Remploy since March 2008
	Ability Net Technical Centre
	Ashutosh Khate
	A Smarter Splash Limited
	Barnett Waddingham
	Bond
	Bray Leino Ltd.
	C11 (Hampshire) Ltd.
	Carley Consult Ltd.
	Caruso Consulting Ltd.
	CIPD Enterprises Limited
	CITI
	Cognos/Ax
	Creation Interactive
	Deloitte MCS Limited
	Fleet Lifeline Ltd.
	Focus EAP
	Gareth Matthews
	Good Relations Wales
	Hay Group Management Limited
	Ian Blake
	IBM
	Impact Executives
	Infor Global Solutions
	Johnson Controls Limited
	KPMG
	Lionel Zetter
	Mercuri Urval Limited
	M Linell
	Nine Feet Tall
	Northgate
	One To One Coaches Ltd.
	Penna plc
	Resilient Risk and Strategy Management
	Social Firms UK Ltd.
	Systems Consultants Services
	The Leadership Factor
	2e2
	Vistorm Ltd.
	Youd Andrews
	 Note
	The list and total cost does not include external recruitment providers used by Remploy to recruit staff, for example to their branch offices.

State Retirement Pensions

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate her Department has made of the annual  (a) gross and  (b) net cost to the public purse of uprating the basic state pension in line with earnings from 2010-11;
	(2)  what estimate her Department has made of the  (a) annual and  (b) cumulative (i) gross and (ii) net cost to the public purse of uprating the basic state pension in line with earnings from 2010-11;
	(3)  what estimate her Department has made of the additional annual  (a) gross and  (b) net cost to the public purse of uprating the basic state pension in line with earnings from 2010-11 up to the latest future date for which information is available.

Angela Eagle: Baseline projections of expenditure on pensioner benefits used for these costings assume that the basic state pension is increased by earnings from 2012. Prior to 2012, projections assume that the basic state pension is uprated by the greater of RPI or 2.5 per cent.
	If the basic state pension were to be uprated by earnings in April 2010, the weekly value of the basic state pension to pensioners would be lower than the value from uprating it by 2.5 per cent which will apply from April 2010.
	
		
			  Additional basic state pension spend from uprating the basic state pensions by earnings from April 2010 
			  £ billion (2009-10 price terms) 
			   Gross  Net of income related benefits 
			   Annual  Cumulative  Annual  Cumulative 
			 2010-11 -0.4 -0.4 -0.3 -0.3 
			 2011-12 -1.0 -1.4 -0.8 -1.1 
			 2012-13 -1.1 -2.5 -0.8 -2.0 
			 2013-14 -1.1 -3.5 -0.9 -2.8 
			 2014-15 -1.1 -4.6 -0.9 -3.7 
			 2015-16 -1.1 -5.7 -0.9 -4.6 
			  Notes: 1. Estimates given are net to baseline, they do not include the gross additional basic state pension spend from implementing the 2007 Pensions Act reforms to the basic state pension from April 2010. 2. During the next Parliament, we will re-link the uprating of the basic state pension to average earnings. Our objective, subject to affordability and the fiscal position, is to do this in 2012, but in any event by the end of the next Parliament at the latest. We will make a statement on the precise date at the beginning of the next Parliament. 3. In the financial years up to and including 2015-16 Treasury Economic assumptions consistent with Table C1 of the Budget Report 2010 have been used in the above modelling. 4. The costs and savings estimates provided are based on future projections of earnings and price inflation-which are inherently uncertain and subject to change particularly in light of the current economic uncertainty. 5. Estimates are in 2009/10 prices, have been rounded to the nearest £100 million and include UK and Overseas claimants.  Source:  DWP calculations

State Retirement Pensions: Denton

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Denton and Reddish constituency receive  (a) basic state pension and  (b) pension credit.

Angela Eagle: As at March 2009, there were 15,900 recipients of the basic state pension in Denton and Reddish constituency.
	 Notes
	1. Figures are subject a high degree of sampling error and should be used as a guide.
	2. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	3. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
	 Source
	Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate, 5 per cent. sample
	The information requested on the number of recipients of pension credit in Denton and Reddish constituency is in the following table:
	
		
			   Total number of beneficiaries  Total number of households 
			 As at August 2009 6,090 4,970 
			  Notes: 1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Number of beneficiaries represents the number of people that pension credit helps and is the number of claimants in addition to the number of partners for whom they are also claiming. (Since 2006 same-sex partners-civil partners and cohabiters are included in the same benefit unit.) Two individuals who are not partners but live in the same house will be counted as separate households; for example two sisters each receiving pension credit in their own right, sharing a house together would be counted as two households.  Source: DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Thurrock Borough Council: Minimum Wage

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what account Jobcentre Plus took of the legislative provisions on the national minimum wage in advertising a job for an apprentice administrative assistant with Thurrock borough council, reference GRT 57556, for 37 hours a week at a weekly salary of £95; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The vacancy to which the hon. Member refers is part of a modern apprenticeship scheme. The £95 per week is a training allowance which is national minimum wage exempt. Thurrock borough council is accredited as part of the modern apprenticeships scheme.
	Modern apprenticeships are paid employment combined with the opportunity to train for jobs at craft, technician and management level. They are available in most sectors of industry and commerce and can provide lifelong career opportunities.
	Apprenticeships offer candidates the opportunity to develop knowledge and expertise through on-the-job assessment. Many apprentices also attend college or training centres.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Official Hospitality

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the five most expensive hospitality events hosted by his Department and its agencies were in the last three years; and what the  (a) cost and  (b) purpose was of each.

Gareth Thomas: It is not possible to provide the requested information without incurring disproportionate cost.
	All such expenditure is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent reports he has received of allegations that funds raised in the UK for non-governmental organisations operating in Gaza have been used to support the political activities of Hamas.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not received any such reports.

Sierra Leone: Female Genital Mutilation

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 29 March 2010,  Official Report, columns 739-40W, on Sierra Leone: overseas aid, what estimate he has made of the effect of the programme funded by his Department to improve the reproductive health of women in Sierra Leone on the level of female genital mutilation of women aged between 15 and 49 in that country.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development's (DFID) country programme in Sierra Leone has a Special Strategic Objective of reducing maternal mortality. The £16 million programme referred to contributes directly to the achievement of this objective through a significant contribution to the Government of Sierra Leone's Reproductive and Child Health Strategy.
	My answer of 29 March 2010,  Official Report, columns 739-40W, sets out the specific activities which DFID undertakes in Sierra Leone in relation to female genital mutilation.

Sierra Leone: Female Genital Mutilation

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 29 March 2010,  Official Report, columns 739-40W, on Sierra Leone: overseas aid, what proportion of the £16 million his Department is providing for women's reproductive health in Sierra Leone is spent on reducing the incidence of female genital mutilation.

Gareth Thomas: My answer of 29 March 2010,  Official Report, columns 739-40W, sets out the specific activities which the Department for International Development (DFID) undertakes in Sierra Leone in relation to female genital mutilation.
	The £16 million programme referred to focuses explicitly on improving reproductive health care for all women in the country. This supports the achievement of DFID's special strategic objective to reduce maternal mortality in Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone: Females

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent contacts officials of his Department based in Sierra Leone have had with the Bundu Women's Organisation.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) has had no contact with the Bundu Women's Organisation in Sierra Leone.

HEALTH

Autism: Children

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what statutory duties there are on participants in the commissioning process for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services to take account of the needs of children with an autistic spectrum disorder.

Phil Hope: From 1 April 2008, local authorities and primary care trusts have a statutory duty to produce a joint strategic needs assessment to address the health care needs of their local populations to inform the strategic planning and commissioning process.
	Under the new Statutory Guidance on Children's Trusts, issued on 22 March 2010, the Children's Trust Board becomes responsible from 1 April 2010 for producing the children and young people's plan (CYPP), a joint strategy which sets out how the partners of the Children's Trust Board will co-operate to improve the well-being of children and young people within the local area, working together to commission services to address local identified needs. Each plan is required to include an outline of the key actions, as identified by the needs assessment, planned to achieve the outcome for children and young people who:
	have special educational needs within the meaning of section 312 of the Education Act; and/or
	are disabled within the meaning of section 1 of the Disability Discrimination Act.
	This would include listing the actions that will be taken to address the needs of children and young people with autistic spectrum disorder.

Cancer: Shropshire

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time is for cancer treatments in Shropshire County primary care trust.

Ann Keen: Statistics on average waiting times between decision to treat and treatment for cancer are not collected centrally.
	The cancer waiting time standard of a maximum wait of 31 days from decision to treat, to first cancer treatment was introduced for all patients and all treatment modalities from December 2005. Statistics showing overall performance are published on a quarterly basis on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Statistics/Performancedataandstatistics/HospitalWaitingTimesandListStatistics/CancerWaitingTimes/index.htm
	The number and percentage of patients receiving first treatment for cancer within one month of decision to treat, for acute trusts in Shropshire, as at quarter 3 of 2009-10 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Trust  Number of patients  Percentage of patients 
			 Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust 3 100 
			 Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust 325 95.3 
			  Notes: 1. Statistics on average waiting times are not collected centrally. Data shown relate to compliance with the two-month waiting time standard from urgent general practitioner referral for suspected cancer to first treatment. 2. Low number of cases are likely to be explained by the specialist nature of particular trusts which would not normally routinely treat cancer patients. Reported compliance is more prone to fluctuation where numbers are relatively low.  Source: Cancer Waiting Times database.

Club Together Magazine

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether Club Together magazine is funded by the National Health Service; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: No. Club Together magazine is entirely funded and issued by Xafinity Paymaster. Club Together is a pensioner interest magazine issued to the pensioner members of a number of pension schemes, including the NHS Pension Scheme.

Croydon

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the Croydon Central constituency, the effects of his Department's policies on that constituency since 2005.

Mike O'Brien: The Government have put in place a programme of national health service investment and reform since 1997 to improve service delivery in all parts of the United Kingdom. 93 per cent. of people nationally now rate the NHS as good or excellent. The NHS Constitution contains 25 rights and 14 pledges for patients and the public including new rights to be treated within 18-weeks, or be seen by a cancer specialist within two weeks and an NHS health check every five years for those aged 40-74 years.
	There is significant evidence that these policies have yielded considerable benefits for the Croydon Central constituency.
	For example:
	 Figures for January 2010 show that in Croydon primary care trust (PCT):
	93 per cent. of patients whose treatment involved admission to hospital started their treatment within 18-weeks.
	99 per cent. of patients whose treatment did not involve admission to hospital started their treatment within 18-weeks.
	Between September 2001 and September 2009 the number of general practitioners (GPs) per 100,000 people within Croydon Central PCT has increased from 50.4 to 69.6.
	In December 2009, at Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust, 98.3 per cent. of patients spent less than four hours in accident and emergency from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge.
	Between September 1997 and September 2009 the number of consultants at Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust increased from 79 to 121. Between September 1997 and September 2009 the estimated number of nurses increased from 730 to 1,279.
	95.5 per cent. of urgent GP referrals to Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust with suspected cancer are seen by a specialist within two weeks of the referral.
	Although statistical information is not available at a local level, Croydon Central will have also benefitted from national policies in other areas. For example:
	Since 1997, gross current expenditure on personal social services has increased by around 70 per cent, in real terms with around 105,000 households now receiving intensive home care and 3,076 new extra care housing units-exceeding the original target of 1,500 new extra care units.
	Other strategies currently being implemented are:
	Subject to parliamentary approval, the Personal Care at Home Bill will guarantee free personal care for 280,000 people with the highest needs and help around 130,000 people who need home care for the first time to regain their independence;
	Shaping the Future of Care Together Green Paper, published in July 2009, sets out a vision for a national care service for all adults in England which is fair, simple and affordable. The Department has consulted widely on this reform and is currently analysing the responses, which will feed into a White Paper later this year;
	The National Carer's Strategy-(Carers at the heart of 21st century families and communities)-launched in 2008;
	The first National Dementia Strategy was published in February 2009;
	Valuing People Now-a three year strategy for people with learning disabilities published in January 2009; and
	New Horizons: A Shared Vision for Mental Health-launched in December 2009-to maintain improvements in mental health services combined with a new cross-Government approach to promoting public mental health.
	Since 1998, there are now 2.4 million fewer smokers in England as a result of the Government's comprehensive tobacco control strategy which has had a measurable impact on reducing smoking prevalence.
	Child obesity levels are reducing due to the efforts of families across England, supported by the Government's obesity strategy. In 2008, 13.9 per cent. of children (aged two to 10) in England were classified as obese, compared with 17.3 per cent. in 2005.
	Overall, life expectancy at birth for men has increased from 74.5 years (1995-1997 data) to 77.7 years (2006-08 data) while for women, life expectancy at birth has increased from 79.6 years (1995-97 data) to 81.9 years (2006-08 data).

Dental Services: Shropshire

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists operating in Shropshire there have been per 1,000 residents in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested for all years.
	The number of people per national health service dentist in Shropshire county primary care trust (PCT) and Telford and Wrekin PCT, as at 31 March 2001 to 2006, is available in annex F of the NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report England: 31 March 2006 report. This information is not available for 1997 to 2000 as PCTs were not in existence in these years, so population data at PCT level are not available. However, the number of NHS dentists for these years have been estimated to match the 2001 PCT boundaries. These data are included in annex E of the report.
	This information is based on the old contractual arrangements, which were in place up to and including 31 March 2006. This report, published on 23 August 2006, has already been placed in the Library and is available on the Information Centre for health and social care website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dwfactivity
	The number of dentists with NHS activity per 100,000 population during the years ending 31 March 2007, 2008 and 2009 are available in table G1 of annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2008/09 report. This information is based on the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006. This report, published on 19 August 2009, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the Information Centre for health and social care website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats0809
	Following a recent consultation exercise, this measure is based on a revised methodology and therefore supersedes any previously published work force figures relating to the new dental contractual arrangements. It is not comparable to the information collected under the old contractual arrangements. This revised methodology counted the number of dental performers with NHS activity recorded via FP17 claim forms in each year ending 31 March.
	These published figures relate to a headcount and do not differentiate between full-time and part-time dentists, nor do they account for the fact that some dentists may do more NHS work than others.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2010,  Official Report, column 57W, on drugs: rehabilitation, what medications are used as pharmacological treatments for drug dependency; and what drug dependency each is designed to treat.

Gillian Merron: Pharmacological interventions are interventions that include prescribing for detoxification, stabilisation, maintenance and symptomatic relief of substance misuse as well as prescribing of medications to prevent relapse.
	They are prescribed on an individual basis in conjunction with provision of a range of psychosocial interventions as agreed between treatment provider and an individual in their treatment care plan.
	Recommended prescribing practices are outlined in Drug misuse and dependence: UK guidelines on clinical management (Department of Health 2007) and are supported by National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) technology appraisals. A copy has already been placed in the Library. Drug misuse and dependence: UK guidelines on clinical management (Department of Health 2007) also summarises the current NICE guidance on drug treatments for drug dependence.

Electronic Cigarettes

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to bring forward proposals to regulate the sale of e-cigarettes; what progress has been made in the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency consultation exercise on e-cigarettes; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: 'A smokefree future: a comprehensive tobacco control strategy for England', published on 1 February 2010, sets out the Government's strategy for tobacco control and this included proposals for changes to the regulation of products containing nicotine. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) launched a full public consultation exercise alongside the publication of the strategy on whether and how to bring unlicensed nicotine containing products, such as electronic cigarettes, within the medicines licensing regime. Copies of the strategy and consultation document have been placed in the Library.
	The consultation is ongoing until 4 May 2010 and the Government will take decisions about whether and how to regulate these products and timing once the consultation exercise has closed, responses to the consultation have been considered and risks and benefits of the options have been evaluated. The outcome of consultation will be published on the MHRA's website at:
	www.mhra.gov.uk

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what offers Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust has made to Dr. Kim Holt to resolve her grievance with the Trust; what agreement the Trust has sought from Dr. Holt in return; and what guidance his Department has given to  (a) NHS London and  (b) the Trust on steps to resolve the grievance;
	(2)  what steps  (a) his Department and  (b) the NHS has taken to implement the recommendations of the independent investigation undertaken on behalf of NHS London into the employment of Dr. Kim Holt by Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust; and if he will take steps to ensure full implementation of all recommendations in the report.

Ann Keen: The Department would expect national health service organisations to adhere to relevant employment legislation and best practice human resources. Disciplinary and grievance issues in the NHS are dealt with at a local level in line with local policies and procedures. Therefore questions should be referred directly to the chief executive of Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust.

Health Services: Isle of Man

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether the negotiations between his Department's officials and the Government of the Isle of Man on the bilateral agreement on health services of 30 March 2010 included representatives of  (a) the Ministry of Justice and  (b) health ministries of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether the negotiations between his Department's officials and the government of the Isle of Man on the bilateral agreement on health services of 30 March 2010 relate to the whole of the United Kingdom or to England only; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: Negotiations, which were based on a United Kingdom wide approach, did not include representatives from the devolved Administrations, nor the Ministry of Justice. However, following negotiations, the Department of Health will be consulting with the devolved Administrations and the Ministry of Justice, before finalising the terms of any new reciprocal healthcare agreement with the Isle of Man.

Medical Records: Databases

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on commissioning reports on the summary care record of University College London; how many such reports his Department has commissioned to date; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the most recent report.

Mike O'Brien: The Department initially commissioned an independent evaluation of the summary care record early adopter programme. This work, carried out by a team at University College London (UCL), ran between May 2007 and April 2008. It resulted in two published reports, the Summary Care Record Independent Evaluation, and Evaluation of Data Quality Standards within the Summary Care Record. Both reports have been published and are available at:
	www.ucl.ac.uk/dome/openlearning/research
	Further research has been commissioned from UCL, to assess the implementation and impact of the summary care record and HealthSpace, and to illuminate ongoing learning and lessons as summary care records begin to be implemented more widely. The outcome of this work is currently undergoing quality assurance and peer review and is due for publication later this year.
	The cost of the commissioned work is £272,200 for the first study and £723,400 for the current study, a total of £995,600.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department takes to ensure that children with a dual diagnosis of a mental health problem and  (a) a learning disability and  (b) an autistic spectrum disorder are recorded (i) in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services commissioning process, (ii) in children and young people's plans and (iii) in children's health needs assessments.

Phil Hope: Each local Children and Young People's Plan must include an outline of key actions which specifically address the needs of children with disabilities. The Government published new Statutory Guidance on Children's Trusts on 22 March 2010 and make clear that in the case of children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) the plan could set out what arrangements are in place to commission services to meet the full range of their needs not just those relating to ASD.
	'The Mental Health and Psychological Well-being of Children and Young People', Standard 9 of the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services, stated that the commissioning and delivery of a comprehensive Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) should include regular assessments of local need of children and young people in the locality who are vulnerable or at risk. A copy of the document has already been placed in the Library.
	A CAMHS dataset, to further strengthen needs assessment and inform the strategic planning process, is currently in development. The dataset will provide information for local use in commissioning and delivering CAMHS.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there is an established national referral pathway to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services for children with  (a) mental health problems and  (b) autistic spectrum disorders and co-occurring mental health problems.

Phil Hope: 'The Mental Health and Psychological Well-being of Children and Young People', Standard 9 of the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services emphasised the need for clear pathways to be set out to show how the range of mental health needs of children and young people will be met. It is for commissioners and providers to develop local services to meet the needs of their populations informed by the National Service Framework and more recently, 'Keeping Children and Young People in Mind: The Government's Full Response to the Independent Review of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)', published in 2010. Copies of both documents have already been placed in the Library.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has published clinical guidelines and technology appraisals which cover the care, treatment and support that children and young people with mental health disorders and their families or carers should be offered. These guidelines will inform the development of local clinical guidelines, care pathways and protocols.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services have a remit to address the needs of children with  (a) a learning disability,  (b) an autistic spectrum disorder,  (c) an eating disorder and  (d) a physical or sensory disability.

Phil Hope: The Mental Health and Psychological Well-being of Children and Young People, Standard 9 of the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services, published in 2004 set out the policy framework for a comprehensive Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). A copy has already been placed in the Library. This includes the need for specialised services for the full range of mental disorders including complex needs in conjunction with other agencies as appropriate, including learning disabilities.
	The children's service mapping exercise in England in 2007-08 provided information on CAMHS teams providing services to children and young people with a learning disability or an autistic spectrum disorder. The mapping found that 685 CAMHS teams supported autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) children and young people and their families. Of these 108 CAMHS teams reported providing targeted work for children and young people with ASD. Additionally of the 349 community paediatric services 193 (55 per cent.) ran ASD clinics. The mapping found a total of 722 CAMHS teams (69 per cent. of all teams) provided specialist learning disability care.
	We do not collect information on the number of specialist CAMHS services providing services to address the needs of children with learning disability, ASD, eating disorder and a physical or sensory disability.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to issue guidance on the commissioning of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services for vulnerable groups other than looked-after children.

Phil Hope: Guidance to support commissioners in playing their central role in securing improved outcomes for children, young people and their families Securing better health for children and young people through world class commissioning: A guide to support delivery of Healthy lives, brighter futures: The strategy for children and young people's health was published in 2009. A copy has already been placed in the Library.
	In addition, guidance for commissioners on the requirements of public service agreement 12 indicator 4 on the extent to which local authorities and primary care trusts should work in partnership to commission a full range of early intervention services, delivered in universal settings and through targeted services, for children experiencing mental health problem was published in 2009.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria his Department requires a comprehensive Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service to meet.

Phil Hope: The Mental Health and Psychological Well-being of Children and Young People, standard 9 of the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services, published in 2004 set out the policy framework for a comprehensive child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS). Further information is set out in Keeping Children and Young People in Mind: The Government's full response to the independent review of CAMHS published in 2010. Copies of both documents have already been placed in the Library.
	Four proxy measures are being used to monitor progress on public service agreement 12 indicator 4 (emotional health and well-being of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)). These are:
	the development and delivery of CAMHS for children and young people with learning disabilities;
	appropriate accommodation and support for 16 to 17-year-olds;
	availability of 24-hour cover to meet urgent mental health needs; and
	joint commissioning of early intervention support.

Mentally Ill: Drugs

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people resident in Shropshire have been prescribed anti-psychotic drugs in each year since 1997.

Mike O'Brien: The information is not available in the format requested. Information is held centrally on number of prescribed items written and dispensed, by primary care trust (PCT), and not on the number of people prescribed drugs.
	Prescribing information by PCT is available only from February 2005; with September 2009 being the most recent month for which data is presently available. Shropshire is covered by two PCTs, Shropshire county PCT and Telford and Wrekin PCT. Figures for the two PCTs combined for the calendar years 2005 to 2009 have been set out in the following table. The data 2005 and 2009 will be for incomplete years.
	
		
			  Anti-psychotic drugs: British National Formulary (BNF) 4.21 and 4.2.2: Items prescribed in Shropshire county PCT and Telford and Wrekin PCT combined 
			   Number 
			 2009(1) 42,357 
			 2008 54,088 
			 2007 49,666 
			 2006 45,671 
			 2005(2) 38,650 
			 (1) Figures are for nine months, January to September inclusive (2) Figures are for 11months, February to December inclusive  Definitions  Anti-psychotic drugs Defined as those recorded in paragraphs 4.2.1 (antipsychotic drugs) and 4.2.2 (antipsychotic depot injections) of the BNF. The number of items is given for the two paragraphs combined.  ePrescribing Analysis and CosT (ePACT) data This information was obtained from the ePACT system, which covers prescriptions prescribed by general practitioners, nurses, pharmacists and others in England and dispensed in the community in the United Kingdom. For data at PCT level, prescriptions written by a prescriber located in a particular PCT but dispensed outside that PCT will be included in the PCT in which the prescriber is based. Prescriptions written in England but dispensed outside England are included. Prescriptions written in hospitals or clinics that are dispensed in the community, prescriptions dispensed in hospitals, dental prescribing and private prescriptions are not included in PACT data. It is important to note this as some BNF sections have a high proportion of prescriptions written in hospitals that are dispensed in the community. For example, BNF chapter 4, Central Nervous System has a fair proportion of items written in mental health clinics that are dispensed in the community-these prescriptions are not included in PACT data.  Prescription Items  Prescriptions are written on a prescription form known as an FP10. Each single item written on the form is counted as a prescription item.  BNF Classifications The Prescription Cost Analysis system uses the therapeutic classifications defined in BNF. No information on why a drug is prescribed is available and since drugs can be prescribed to treat more than one condition it is impossible to separate the different conditions that a drug was prescribed for.

Mentally Ill: Nottinghamshire

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 in Nottinghamshire  (a) in total and  (b) in secure wards; and what the equivalent figures were in 2005.

Phil Hope: Information on the number of people who spent time formally detained in a national health service hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983 during the year has been set out in the following table. This includes people who were detained in hospital during the year but whose formal admission was in a previous year.
	These figures are taken from Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust's mental health minimum dataset annual returns. They exclude patients detained only in high secure beds at Rampton hospital, or by the trust's child and adolescent mental health service. The figures cannot be broken down between secure and other wards, and equivalent information is not available for independent hospitals in Nottinghamshire.
	
		
			  Number of in - patients detained in hospital for Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust 2005-06 and 2008-09 
			   Number of people formally detained 
			 2005-06 683 
			 2008-09 628 
			  Notes: 1. Each person is counted only once. If a person was detained more than once in a year they are still counted once only. 2. Formally detained refers to people who spent at least one day formally retained in hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983 (or previous related legislation). 3. Background information for the Mental Health Act 1983 can be found via the link for the Mental Health Act Code of Practice at:www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4005756 4. The results shown in the answer are published and available online at:www.mhmdsonline.ic.nhs.uk 5. The Mental Health Bulletin 2003-2009 Chapter 2 of the Mental Health Bulletin provides commentary on these statistics:www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/mhbmhmds0809  Source:  Mental Health Minimum Dataset annual returns

Midwives: Shropshire

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwives have been employed by Shropshire NHS Trust in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested. The number of registered midwives employed by the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust in each year since 1997 has been set out in the following table:
	
		
			  NHS hospital and community health services: Registered midwives in the Shrewsbury and Telford  H ospitals NHS  T rust, as at 30 September each year 
			   Headcount 
			 1997 194 
			 1998 208 
			 1999 210 
			 2000 209 
			 2001 209 
			 2002 225 
			 2003 237 
			 2004 232 
			 2005 249 
			 2006 228 
			 2007 234 
			 2008 236 
			 2009 217 
			  Notes: 1. Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust was formed in 2003 from a complete merger of Princess Royal Hospital NHS Trust and Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals NHS Trust. Figures from 1997-2003 are an aggregate of these predecessor organisations. 2.  Data Quality: The Information Centre for Health and Social care seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care: Non-Medical Workforce Census.

Minoxidil

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with Pfizer on its decision to transfer the production of Minoxidil to another plant; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the supply of Minoxidil to NHS patients is maintained during the transfer.

Mike O'Brien: None. However, departmental officials have had communication with Pfizer on this matter.

Patients: Death

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the most recent hospital standardised mortality ratio for each NHS hospital trust, ranked from highest to lowest.

Mike O'Brien: Hospital standardised mortality ratios (HSMRs) for every non-specialist acute national health service trust in England have been published each month on the NHS Choices website at
	www.nhs.uk
	since April 2009. The hospital comparison features of NHS Choices allows the list to be sorted by a range of elements, including by HSMR banding and the Care Quality Commission's Quality of Care indicator.

Patients: Death

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to monitor hospital standardised mortality ratios in each NHS hospital trust.

Mike O'Brien: Hospital standardised mortality ratios (HSMRs) for each acute hospital trust in England are published on the NHS Choices website and are updated regularly. The Care Quality Commission has an ongoing programme of review of HSMRs, alongside a range of other data, such as readmission rates, infection rates and reported incidents, as well as information from inspections, the public and other organisations, as part of its system for the registration of national health service trusts.

Patients: Death

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanism the Care Quality Commission uses to monitor mortality rates in NHS hospital trusts.

Mike O'Brien: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has looked closely at the mortality rates of every trust in England when assessing its application for registration. The CQC will continue to look at mortality rates as part of ongoing monitoring and compliance of trusts' registration.
	The CQC has advised us that it calculates standardised mortality ratios using hospital episode statistics data.
	In addition to this, the CQC receives copies of mortality alerts from the Dr. Foster Unit at Imperial College each month.
	The CQC has an established surveillance programme of generating and acting upon mortality outlier alerts for specific clinical groups. At the point of receiving an alert, the CQC undertakes a rigorous range of statistical and other analyses and brings together clinical advice and local knowledge to make decisions about the course of action to be taken.

Prescriptions: Shropshire

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people resident in Shropshire have bought a prescription pre-pay certificate in each year since 1997.

Mike O'Brien: National Health Service Help with Health Costs (NHS HwHC) do not hold pre-payment certificate information at primary care trust or county level. The information is available at national level for England which has been set out in the following table.
	NHS HwHC also do not hold records for the number of pre-payment certificates sold since 1997. Details of certificates issued are retained for seven years. The information available covers April 2003 to February 2010.
	
		
			  Number of prescription pre-payment certificates issued in England 
			   Duration of certificates issued  
			  Financial year  Three-month  Four-month  12-month  Total 
			 2003-04 - 572,863 461,614 1,034,477 
			 2004-05 - 491,576 517,882 1,009,458 
			 2005-06 - 638,413 524,232 1,162,645 
			 2006-07 - 650,782 520,449 1,171,231 
			 2007-08 474,570 176,503 593,507 1,244,580 
			 2008-09 730,592 - 652,870 1,383,462 
			 2009-10 648,518 - 588,820 1,237,338 
			 Total 1,853,680 2,530,137 3,859,374 8,243,191 
			  Notes: 1. 2009-10 only covers 11 months as March 2010 data are not yet available. 2. Between 2004 and June 2007, pre-payment certificates were available to cover a period of four months or 12 months. Since 1 July 2007 the four-month pre-payment certificate has been replaced with certificates covering three months. 3. The summary information used is available only by financial year.  Source: Summary of information provided from NHS HwHC prescription pre-payment certificate database.

Prosthetics: Ex-servicemen

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding is being made available to NHS Artificial Limb and Appliance Centres to meet the extension of provision to veterans of earlier conflicts.

Mike O'Brien: Funding for prosthetic and orthotic care and services is provided within the NHS budget and allocated through local determination by individual primary care trusts (PCTs). The current operating framework for the national health service requires commissioners to take account of military personnel, their families and veterans when commissioning services in their area. It is for PCTs in partnership with local stakeholders, including practice based commissioners, local government and the public to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health and to commission services accordingly. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community including the provision of prosthetic services for former service personnel.
	On 24 March 2010, up to £10 million of funding to research concerning the management of disability after acute trauma in a military or civilian context was launched through the National Institute of Health Research, Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre. This includes research for people needing physical or psychological rehabilitation following trauma. Further information about the research funding can be found at:
	www.hta.ac.uk/news/newsitem240310.shtml

Social Services: Finance

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms are used to  (a) apportion the costs of providing care to people with chronic medical conditions causing disability between the NHS and social services and  (b) estimate expenditure on such costs in respect of those who assist such people with (i) mobility, (ii) attendance and (iii) other care.

Phil Hope: Section 75 of the National Health Service Act 2006, provides the legal framework to enable health and social services to integrate health related functions through a number of partnership arrangements. These include the establishment of pooled budgets for specific client groups and partners to a pooled budget are required to agree how costs are apportioned within the partnership, as well as the level of contribution each partner will make.
	Information on the health and social care costs for those who assist people with chronic health conditions is not available centrally. The National Carers' Strategy identified the funding that was available within primary care trust (PCT) baselines to improve support for carers. This includes an additional £150 million that would be given to PCTs to provide carer breaks over 2009-10 (£50 million) and 2010-11 (£100 million).

Swine Flu: Shropshire

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people resident in Shropshire have been diagnosed with swine influenza in each of the last 12 months.

Gillian Merron: Data on the precise number of swine flu cases in a particular area are not available.
	However, the Department does have data on the number of antivirals dispensed through the National Pandemic Flu Service (NPFS). Shropshire is covered by two primary care trusts (PCTs), Shropshire county PCT and Telford and Wrekin PCT. Figures for these PCTs show that between 23 July 2009 and 11 February 2010:
	7,747 residents in Shropshire County PCT were authorised antivirals; and
	6,619 residents in Telford and Wrekin PCT were authorised antivirals.
	These figures only refer to antiviral authorisations through the NPFS since its launch on 23 July 2009 and do not include any that may have been authorised via other routes such as general practitioners.
	Antivirals distributed prior to this time were distributed through normal primary care routes and by the Health Protection Agency; the data are still being collated.

CABINET OFFICE

Public Sector: Contracts

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many public service contracts were awarded to companies registered outside the UK in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	Figures for public contracts reported to OGC above the EU threshold for 2008 indicate that over 95 per cent. were awarded to UK registered companies.

Social Investment Wholesale Bank

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with which projects the Government are piloting social impact bonds; and for how long in each case.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	The Budget announced its support for the first social impact bond (SIB) pilots to help investment in long-term initiatives and support preventative action. The pilots are at different stages of development. The MOJ pilot will aim to reduce reoffending rates in HMP Peterborough and the pilot will last for six years. CLG are working with Leeds city council and NHS Leeds to enable them to use a SIB approach to reduce health and social cares costs among older people. Given this work is at an early stage, the timeframe has not been set. Similarly Bradford metropolitan district council are considering applying this model as part of their involvement in the Government's Total Place programme. Again, no timeframe has yet been set.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Building Schools for the Future Programme: Leicestershire

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families for what reasons Leicestershire county council's bid for funding from Building Schools for the Future was not recommended by Partnerships for Schools in the most recent funding round; and on what date his Department wrote to Leicestershire county council to inform them of these reasons.

Vernon Coaker: Partnerships for Schools (PfS), as the delivery agent for Building Schools for the Future (BSF), is responsible for discussions with local authorities about applications to join the BSF programme. PfS wrote to Leicestershire county council on 8 March 2010 to provide feedback on why the council would not yet be invited to join.
	Local authorities are prioritised on the need for BSF investment but must also demonstrate that they are ready and able, and have all the elements in place to deliver their BSF project. As well as assessing submissions to enter on a case-by-case basis, bids are also compared against each other so that the most ready are selected.
	The assessment of Leicestershire's county council, Readiness to Deliver submission concluded that further work is needed in some key areas before the authority can be deemed ready to enter BSF.

Children's Workforce Development Council: Finance

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding his Department allocated to the Children's Workforce Development Council for  (a) 2004-05,  (b) 2005-06,  (c) 2006-07,  (d) 2008-09 and  (e) 2009-10.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 18 March 2010
	The Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) was established in 2005. There was therefore no funding allocation for the 2004-05 financial year. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) funding allocations for each of CWDC's first three financial years, when it was an employer-led workforce reform body were; 2005-06, £960,000; 2006-07, £31,921,000 million and 2007-08, £55,181,000 million. The funding allocations for the next two years, when CWDC became an executive non departmental public body of the DCSF and experienced significant expansion to its remitted activities were; 2008-09, £82,454,000 million and 2009-10, £108,228,000 million.

Departmental Buildings

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department and its predecessor spent on interior design in relation to office refurbishments undertaken in each of the last five years.

Diana Johnson: The Department for Children, Schools and Families financial system does not hold information on the amount of spend incurred purely for interior design as a separate cost from other construction management and design fees.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what records his Department maintains of the reimbursable expenses paid to its special advisers.

Diana Johnson: Records of expenses paid to the Department's special advisers are kept on the Department's Resourcing Management System which was introduced in November 2009, and previously on the Department's financial system, IFIS.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department has spent on  (a) ministerial photoshoots and  (b) production of videos in which Ministers appear in the last three years for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: In the last three years for which figures are available, this Department and its predecessor, the Department for Education and Skills, spent the following on  (a) ministerial photoshoots:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2006-07 2949.88 
			 2007-08 2614.4 
			 2008-09 1362.73 
		
	
	and  (b) production of videos in which Ministers appear:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2006-07 104,091.89 
			 2007-08 74,231.92 
			 2008-09 89,099.21

Departmental Taxis

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many miles  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department and its predecessors have travelled by taxi in the course of their official duties in each year since 1997; and at what cost to the public purse in each such year.

Vernon Coaker: The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) was established under the machinery of Government on 28 June 2007, therefore the response covers its predecessor the Department for Education and Skills (DFES) which was established on 8 June 2001.
	Accounting records are not available for mileage covered by taxis for both Ministers and Officials.
	No taxi expenditure has been recorded against Ministers use of taxis within the DCSF's accounting system or its predecessor the DFES. However, the Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) an executive agency of the Department for Transport supplies official cars for Ministers during the course of their official duties. Unfortunately, GCDA is only able to supply data for the latest financial year of 2008-09. Data for earlier years are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.
	Due to the accounting system used by the Department prior to 2004 only being able to hold a number of charges under one account code of travel and subsistence individual charges were not specific to the type of travel.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Financial years  Ministers official car costs  Officials taxi costs 
			 2009-10 17,679 341,428.16 
			 2008-09 491,924 81,056.00 
			 2007-08 - 67,596.00 
			 2006-07 - 95,382.00 
			 2007-06 - 51,749.00 
			 2006-05 - 564.90 
		
	
	Expenditure, however, has to be incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on regularity and propriety.

Free School Meals: A-Levels

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at  (a) comprehensive and  (b) all mainstream maintained schools achieved three A-levels at A grade in the last year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The information available is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Number and proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals at (a) comprehensive( 1)  and (b) all maintained mainstream schools( 1)  achieving three or more A grades at GCE/Applied A level or Double Award in 2008/09 
			   Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals achieving three or more A grades at GCE/Applied A level or Double Award  Proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals achieving three or more A grades at GCE/Applied A level or Double Award 
			 Comprehensive schools 179 3.5 
			 All maintained mainstream schools 232 4.1 
			 (1) Includes city technology colleges and academies.  Source: National Pupil database (2008/09 Revised Data) 
		
	
	The figures relate to 16 to 18-year-olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August 2002) in maintained schools only who were eligible for free school meals. The figures do not include the achievement of students in Further Education Sector Colleges previously eligible for free school meals.

GCE A-Level: Disadvantaged

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2010,  Official Report, column 1088W, on free school meals: mathematics, if he will provide the information from the earliest year in the last 30 years for which data relating to ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals is available.

Vernon Coaker: Full information for the whole cohort of A-level students is not available, because the information comes from two distinct sources. The information the Department has readily available is for schools.
	In the 2002-03 academic year, the number of white males eligible for free school meals attending maintained(1) schools and non maintained special schools who achieved an A grade in GCE A-Level further mathematics was less than five. The number of white females eligible for free school meals attending maintained(1) schools and non-maintained special schools who achieved an A grade in GCE A-level further mathematics was also less than five. The exact figures cannot be given to preserve confidentiality.
	(1) Maintained Schools including City Technology Colleges

GCSE and GCE A-level

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of comprehensive schools did not enter any students for  (a) physics,  (b) chemistry and  (c) biology GCSE in the last year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: Of the 2,741 comprehensive schools published in the 2009 Achievement and Attainment Tables that have at least one pupil on roll at the end of Key Stage 4:
	1,296 (47.3 per cent.) entered no pupils for GCSE physics.
	1,302 (47.5 per cent.) entered no pupils for GCSE chemistry
	1,247 (45.5 per cent.) entered no pupils for GCSE biology
	The Government have introduced a statutory entitlement for all pupils in maintained schools(1) to be able to study at least two science GCSEs, specifically this includes core and additional science or the three separate science GCSEs of physics, chemistry and biology.
	(1) Not including Academies and City Technology Colleges.

GCSE and GCE A-level

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools achieved GCSE results above the national average in the most recent period for which figures are available; and how many such schools in  (a) Leicester,  (b) the east midlands and  (c) England are scheduled to be closed in 2010.

Vernon Coaker: In maintained schools in England in 2009, 50.7 per cent. of pupils at the end of key stage 4 achieved five or more GCSEs at grade A*-C or the equivalent, including English and mathematics GCSEs.
	The following table counts the number of schools performing above this average.
	
		
			   Leicester  East Midlands  England 
			 Number of maintained schools performing above average 7 109 1,436 
			 of which have been approved for closure in 2010 0 0 1 
			  Notes: 1. The seven schools in Leicester are included in the count of schools in east midlands, which are included in the England count. 2. The school approved for closure is in Rochdale local authority and is to address an issue of surplus places there.

GCSE and GCE A-level

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of eligible pupils received five A* to C grades at GCSE including English and mathematics but excluding equivalents in  (a) local authority schools and  (b) academies where the per capita spend per pupil was (i) up to £4,500, (ii) from £4,501 to £5,000, (iii) from £5,001 to £5,500 and  (d) more than £5,500 in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The following tables provide a breakdown of the number and percentage of pupils achieving five or more A* to C grades in their GCSEs by the end of key stage 4, banded by expenditure per pupil in local authority maintained secondary schools and academies respectively.
	
		
			  Number and percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 achieving five GCSEs at grade A* to C, excluding equivalents, including English and maths GCSEs, banded by expenditure( 1, 2)  per pupil( 3)  in authority maintained secondary schools 
			  Expenditure based on cash terms figures as reported by local authorities as at 10 March 2010 
			  Expenditure per pupil( 3)  Number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 achieving five or more GCSEs at grade A* to C, excluding equivalents, including English and maths GCSEs( 4)  Percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 achieving five or more GCSEs at grade A* to C, excluding equivalents, including English and maths GCSEs( 4) 
			 Less than or equal to £4,500 112,706 60.8 
			 More than £4,500 and less than or equal to £5,000 87,247 51.7 
			 More than £5,000 and less than or equal to £5,500 37,604 42.1 
			 More than £5,500 36,697 34.8 
			 (1) School based expenditure includes only expenditure incurred directly by the schools. This includes the pay of teachers and school-based support staff, school premises costs, books and equipment, and certain other supplies and services, less any capital items funded from recurrent spending and income from sales, fees and charges and rents and rates. This excludes the central cost of support services such as home to school transport, local authority administration and the financing of capital expenditure. (2) Total expenditure is based upon the financial year 2008-09. (3) Pupil numbers include all those pupils attending maintained establishments and are drawn from the 2009 DCSF Annual Schools Census. (4) Including attempts and achievements in previous academic years  Notes: 1. These figures cover only maintained schools and only those for which both 2008-09 financial data and 2009 academic achievement data are available. 2. The number of schools within each banding (ascending) are 934, 857, 479 and 686 respectively.  Source: Financial data are taken from local authorities' 2008-09 Children, Schools and Families Outturn Statements (formally section 52) submitted to the DCSF while pupil numbers are drawn from the DCSF January 2009 Schools Census. GCSE details are from the Achievement and Attainment Tables (AAT). 
		
	
	
		
			  Number and percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 achieving five A* to C grades at GCSE, excluding equivalents, including English and maths GCSEs, banded by expenditure( 1)  per pupil in academies( 2) 
			  Expenditure( 1)  per pupil  Number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 achieving five or more GCSEs at grade A* to C, excluding equivalents, including English and maths GCSEs( 3)  Percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 achieving five or more GCSEs at grade A* to C, excluding equivalents, including English and maths GCSEs( 3) 
			 Less than or equal to £4,500 0 0.0 
			 More than £4,500 and less than or equal to £5,000 972 42.3 
			 More than £5,000 and less than or equal to £5,500 1,400 30.4 
			 More than £5,500 4,308 33.6 
			 (1) Academy allocations include a VAT grant and a Local Authority Central Services Equivalent Grant (LACSEG), local authority maintained schools do not receive these grants. Academies receive a VAT grant because they incur VAT on purchases and services, whereas local authority maintained schools in general do not or can reclaim it. LACSEG is paid to academies to enable them to purchase/provide services normally funded and provided to maintained schools from the local authority's central budget, which an academy does not have access to. (2) The number of schools within each banding (ascending) are 1, 11, 29 and 81 respectively. (3) Including attempts and achievements in previous academic years.  Source: GCSE details are from the Achievement and Attainment Tables (AAT). 
		
	
	The Government and local authorities allocate significant additional funds to schools that support deprived pupils, who tend to achieve less well than their more advantaged peers. This is reflected in the data. It remains a high Government priority, as set out in Investing for the future, protecting the front line: school funding 2011-13 (published on 15 March 2010), to ensure that additional funds go towards children who need extra support to reach their potential, so that the gap between the attainment of disadvantaged children and the rest continues to narrow. Further, many local authorities choose to give additional funding to schools based on low attainment or low prior attainment.

GCSE and GCE A-level

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils who gained five GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and mathematics did so by passing a qualification equivalent to one or more GCSEs in 2009.

Vernon Coaker: In 2009, out of the 316,050 pupils at the end of key stage 4 who achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and mathematics (including equivalents), 12,170 did so by passing a qualification equivalent to one or more GCSEs.

GCSE and GCE A-level

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils obtaining five GCSEs  (a) at grades A* to C and  (b) at grades A* to C including English and mathematics also received an equivalent qualification worth (i) four GCSEs and (ii) two GCSEs in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The requested figures are given in the following table.
	
		
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			  Number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 achieving 5+ GCSEs at grade A*-C or the equivalent and at least one:  
			 Qualification(1) equivalent(2) to two GCSEs 7,428 11,069 38,243 85,935 128,687 
			 Qualification equivalent(2) to four GCSEs 54,489 70,454 73,308 56,782 72,467 
			   
			  Number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 achieving 5+ GCSEs at grade A*-C or the equivalent including English and maths GCSE and at least one:  
			 Qualification(1) equivalent(2) to two GCSEs 6,302 8,632 26,716 55,506 78,802 
			 Qualification equivalent(2) to four GCSEs 28,660 37,040 38,087 28,329 34,840 
			 (1) Other than a GCSE double award. (2) Equivalent qualifications counted have been passed but not necessarily at the level of A*-C.

GCSE and GCE A-level

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils in  (a) comprehensive and  (b) maintained schools (a) sat GCSEs, excluding equivalents in English, English literature, history, at least two sciences, a modern language and mathematics and (b) obtained grade C or higher in each subject in 2009.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  GCSE excluding equivalents results( 1)  for pupils( 2)  who sat English, English literature, history, at least two sciences, a modern language and mathematics in 2009 
			   Number of pupils entered  Percentage of pupils entered  Number of pupils achieving grade C or above  Percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 achieving grade C or above 
			 Comprehensive schools 72,117 13.9 45,304 8.7 
			 Maintained schools(3,4) 84,706 14.6 55,948 9.7 
			 (1) Revised data. (2) Figures are for pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. (3) Includes pupils attending all maintained mainstream schools including Academies and City Technology Colleges. (4) Figures for comprehensive schools are included in those for maintained schools.  Source: School and College Achievement and Attainment Tables

GCSE and GCE A-level

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils in  (a) comprehensive and  (b) maintained schools sat English, English literature and mathematics GCSE examinations, excluding equivalents in 2009; and how many and what proportion of such pupils obtained grade C or above in each subject.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  GCSE excluding equivalents results( 1)  for pupils( 2)  who sat English, English literature and mathematics-2009 
			   Number of pupils entered  Percentage of pupils entered as a proportion of all pupils  Number of pupils achieving grade C or above  Percentage of pupils achieving grade C or above 
			 Comprehensive schools 403,511 77.7 229,009 56.8 
			 Maintained schools(3) 443,485 77.9 258,689 58.3 
			 (1) Revised data. (2) Figures are for pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. (3) Includes pupils attending all maintained mainstream schools including Academies and City Technology Colleges.  Source: School and College Achievement and Attainment Tables

GCSE and GCE A-level

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2010,  Official Report, column 309W, on GCSE A-level, how many white  (a) boys and  (b) girls eligible for free school meals achieved three A grades at A-level in the earliest year for which figures are available.

Iain Wright: holding answer 1 March 2010
	2003 is the earliest year of which figures are available.
	36 (3.8 per cent.) white British boys and 58 (4.7 per cent.) white British girls eligible for free school meals achieved three or more A grades at A-level. Percentages indicated are of white British students eligible for free school meals of the appropriate gender who were entered for at least one GCE/VCE/Applied A-Level and Double Awards in 2003.
	The figures relate to 16 to 18-year-olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August 2002) in maintained schools only who were eligible for free school meals. The figures do not include the achievement of students in further education sector colleges previously eligible for free school meals.

GCSE and GCE A-level

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of pupils in  (a) comprehensive and  (b) maintained schools who achieved at least five grades A* to C at GCSE achieved one or more such grades in business studies, music technology, child development, hairdressing, construction, health and social care, sociology, media, travel and tourism, performing arts and hospitality and catering in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: To answer this would go over the disproportionate cost threshold.

GCSE and GCE A-level

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of pupils following a GCSE course achieved a B grade or higher in both GCSE mathematics and English excluding equivalent qualifications in 2009.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is given in the following table for the academic year 2008/09.
	
		
			  The number and percentage of pupils( 1)  at the end of Key Stage 4 achieving Grade B or higher in both GCSE Mathematics and English, excluding equivalents, in2008/09( 2) 
			   Pupils achieving Grade B or higher in both GCSE Maths and English, excluding equivalents. 
			   Number  Percentage 
			 2008/09 155,446 26.8 
			 (1) Pupils attending maintained schools only including City Technology Colleges and Academies. (2) Data is revised.  Note: AS Levels not included.  Source: National Pupil Database

GCSE and GCE A-level

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many pupils in  (a) comprehensive and  (b) independent schools in each constituency were entered for GCSE examinations in (i) physics, (ii) biology and (iii) chemistry in the latest year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of 16 to 18-year- old candidates in each constituency entered for level 3 qualifications at least equivalent to one GCE or Applied GCE A-level in  (a) comprehensive schools,  (b) all maintained schools and further education sector colleges and  (c) all independent schools achieved three or more A grades at GCE/Applied GCE A-level and double awards in (i) 1997 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested on the number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 attending  (a) comprehensive and  (b) independent schools entered for GCSEs in (i) physics, (ii) biology and (iii) chemistry by parliamentary constituency in 2008/09 has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	The information available on the proportion and number of 16-18 year old pupils in each parliamentary constituency entered for GCE/Applied GCE A-Levels and Double Awards in  (a) comprehensive schools,  (b) all maintained schools and further education sector colleges and  (c) all independent schools who achieved three or more A grades at GCE/Applied GCE A-Level and Double Awards in 2005/06 and 2008/09 has been placed in the House of Commons Library. Information for earlier years can only be produced at disproportionate cost.

GCSE: Disadvantaged

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils in receipt of free school meals were entered for GCSE examinations in each subject in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 25 February 2010
	The requested information on the number of pupils in receipt of a free school meal is not available. The number and proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals who were entered for GCSE examinations in each subject in 2009 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  The number and percentage of pupils entered for GCSEs in each subject in 2009 by free school meal eligibility 
			   Number of FSM pupils entered  Percentage of all FSM pupils at the end of key stage 4  Number of non-FSM pupils entered  Percentage of all non-FSM pupils at the end of key stage 4 
			 Biological science 3,525 4.7 67,757 13.4 
			 Chemistry 2,985 4.0 64,334 12.8 
			 Physics 2,954 4.0 64,231 12.7 
			 Core science 53,925 72.5 378,560 75.1 
			 Additional science 30,470 41.0 275,635 54.7 
			 Additional applied science 6,965 9.4 39,902 7.9 
			 Single award science 53,927 72.5 378,603 75.1 
			 English 67,351 90.5 487,358 96.6 
			 Maths 68,130 91.6 489.359 97.0 
			 Statistics 6,112 8.2 63,908 12.7 
			 Design and technology and electronics 1,028 1.4 10,583 2.1 
			 Design and technology and food technology 7,003 9.4 58,591 11.6 
			 Design and technology and graphics 5,498 7.4 49,547 9.8 
			 Design and technology and resistant materials technology 7,889 10.6 60,360 12.0 
			 Design and technology and systems control 436 0.6 5,325 1.1 
			 Design and technology and textiles technology 4,551 6.1 34,133 6.8 
			 Office technology 3,465 4.7 28,372 5.6 
			 Information technology 3,791 5.1 46,167 9.2 
			 Business studies 5,696 7.7 63,969 12.7 
			 Home economics 3,401 4.6 19,158 3.8 
			 Geography 11.049 14.9 137,972 27.4 
			 History 13,466 18.1 160,715 31.9 
			 Music 2,951 4.0 39,641 7.9 
			 Art and design 17.714 23.8 135,362 26.8 
			 Fine art 4,019 5.4 36,876 7.3 
			 English literature 44,942 60.4 399,628 79.2 
			 Drama 8,124 10.9 70,021 13.9 
			 Media, film and television studies 7,314 9.8 52,715 10.5 
			 Physical education 10,314 13.9 117,719 23.3 
			 Religious studies 16,202 21.8 137,223 27.2 
			 French 10,273 13.8 130,311 25.8 
			 German 3,098 4.2 58,014 11.5 
			 Spanish 3,294 4.4 42,685 8.5 
			 Italian 171 0.2 2,615 0,5 
			 Arabic 676 0.9 751 0.1 
			 Bengali 581 0.8 598 0.1 
			 Chinese 109 0.1 1,168 0.2 
			 Dutch 209 0.3 211 0.0 
			 Gujarati 38 0.1 718 0.1 
			 Japanese 48 0.1 797 0.2 
			 Modern Greek 25 0.0 346 0.1 
			 Modern Hebrew 12 0.0 230 0.0 
			 Panjabi 111 0.1 760 0.2 
			 Persian 144 0.2 253 0.1 
			 Polish 61 0.1 2,021 0.4 
			 Portuguese 254 0.3 938 0.2 
			 Russian 62 0.1 871 0.2 
			 Turkish 523 0.7 624 0.1 
			 Urdu 1,248 1.7 2,747 0.5 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are revised 2. Figures relate to pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in maintained schools  Source: National Pupil Database

GCSE: Disadvantaged

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of students eligible for free school meals gained a GCSE in Latin at each grade in the latest year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: In 2009, the number and percentage of pupils at the end of key stage 4 who gained a GCSE at each grade in Latin by free school meal (FSM) eligibility is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Grade  Number of FSM pupils achieving grades  Percentage of all FSM pupils  Number of non-FSM pupils achieving grades  Percentage of all non-FSM pupils 
			 A* 13 0.0 830 0.2 
			 A 9 0.0 723 0.1 
			 B 5 0.0 498 0.1 
			 C 8 0.0 444 0.1 
			 D 12 0.0 245 0.0 
			 E (1)- (1)- 89 0.0 
			 F (1)- (1)- 26 0.0 
			 G 0 0.0 11 0.0 
			 (1) Figures suppressed due to low numbers.  Notes: 1. Figures relate to pupils in maintained schools at the end of key stage 4. 2. Percentages are based on all FSM/non-FSM pupils at the end of key stage 4, not just those who attempt a GCSE in the relevant subject.  Source: National Pupil Database.

GCSE: Humanities and Languages

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many mainstream maintained secondary schools entered no pupils for a GCSE in  (a) a modern foreign language,  (b) history and  (c) geography in (i) 2007, (ii) 2008 and (iii) 2009.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 9 March 2010
	The number of open maintained mainstream secondary schools that entered no pupils for GCSEs in the specified subjects is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   (i) 2007  (ii) 2008  (iii) 2009 
			 (a) a modern foreign language 25 24 24 
			 (b) history 59 59 53 
			 (c) geography 83 95 121

International Baccalaureate

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of students who completed an International Baccalaureate course did not achieve a diploma in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: 3,316 students aged 16-18 completed an International Baccalaureate (IB) course in all schools and FE colleges in 2008/09. Of those, 441 (13 per cent.) did not achieve a diploma.

National Curriculum Tests

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of children achieved  (a) the national standard and  (b) beyond expectation in each Key Stage 1 subject in (i) England and (ii) each London borough in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 6 April 2010
	The number of pupils achieving the national standard and performing beyond the national standard in each key stage 1 subject in each London borough in 1997 can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The remaining information requested, including the proportion of pupils achieving national standards and performing beyond expectations has been placed in the House Libraries. For ease of reference links to the information showing the proportion of pupils achieving national standards and beyond expectations for 1999 to 2009 are provided as follows:
	 1999
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000088/index.shtml
	 2000
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000202/index.shtml
	 2001
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000344/index.shtml

Ofsted: Operating Costs

Ken Purchase: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the cost was of Ofsted's operations in the last year for which figures are available; and what targets there are for Ofsted to reduce its expenditure in the next three years.

Vernon Coaker: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Library.

Pupil Numbers

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils there were in maintained  (a) secondary and  (b) primary schools in each (i) constituency and (ii) local authority area in (A) 1997 and (B) 2009.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Pupils: Bullying

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many incidents of  (a) bullying between pupils and  (b) verbal and physical abuse of school staff by pupils were recorded in schools in each of the last six months.

Vernon Coaker: The Department for Children, Schools and Families does not collect this information from schools.

Schools

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many maintained  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools there were in each (i) constituency and (ii) local authority area in (A) 1997 and (B) 2009.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Schools: Broadband

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding his Department has provided to schools in  (a) England and  (b) Gloucestershire for broadband services in each of the last five years; how much funding he plans to provide in future years; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Funding for broadband services in schools is made available predominantly via the Harnessing Technology Grant. This is paid by the Department to local authorities through the standards fund. It is not possible to identify the proportion of the grant that is used by schools to purchase broadband services, however we do have figures for the overall Harnessing Technology Grant for the latest three financial years:
	
		
			  Harnessing Technology Grant allocation: England 
			  Financial year  £ million 
			 2008-09 201 
			 2009-10 201 
			 2010-11 201 
			 Total 2008-11 603 
		
	
	The available figures on the amount of the Harnessing Technology Grant paid specifically to the Gloucestershire local authority for each of the three years in the current spending period is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Harnessing Technology Grant allocation to Gloucestershire 
			  Financial year  £ 
			 2008-09 2,876,557 
			 2009-10 2,721,194 
			 2010-11 2,563,799 
			 Total 2008-11 8,161,550 
		
	
	However, these figures can only be provided as an indication as it is not possible to extrapolate from this the spending on broadband provision in particular. Additionally, the Harnessing Technology Grant will not be the total ICT spend, as schools are free to use money from other sources on technological services and infrastructure.

Schools: Radicalism

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether any school has  (a) had public funding withdrawn and  (b) been closed consequent on identification of links between that school and extremism in the last 10 years.

Diana Johnson: Maintained schools are funded by their local authority and decisions about funding for pupils of compulsory school age and for early years provision are a matter for local authorities. Some independent schools are funded by local authorities for the delivery of early years' provision. Maintained school closures are a matter for the relevant local authority and independent school proprietors make their own operational decisions. The Department does not routinely collect information about the withdrawal of funding by local authorities from their schools or early years providers and we have no record of instances where public funding has been withdrawn as a result of links between a school and extremism. Every year a number of maintained and independent schools close but the Department does not collect the reasons for closure.

Schools: Sports

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps his Department has taken to improve the provision of sport in schools in Leeds North West constituency.

Iain Wright: The Department funds a national network of 450 school sport partnerships to increase the quality and quantity of PE and Sport in schools.
	The following table sets out the amount of funding that schools in Leeds North West constituency received over the last three years. Funding increased substantially in 2008-09 with the introduction of the national network of competition managers, set up to work with school sport partnerships on inter-school sport.
	
		
			  (£) 
			 2007-08 156,022 
			 2008-09 506,349 
			 2009-10 532,224 
			 Total 1,194,595

Science: GCSE

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which secondary schools did not enter any pupils for GCSE  (a) biology,  (b) chemistry and  (c) physics in (i) 1997 and (ii) the most recent year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 22 February 2010
	A list of the requested schools has been placed in the House Libraries.
	The Government have introduced a statutory entitlement for all pupils in maintained schools(1) to be able to study at least two science GCSEs, specifically this includes core and additional science or the three separate science GCSEs of physics, chemistry and biology.
	(1) Not including academies and city technology colleges.

Sixth Form Education: Torbay

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which schools in Torbay constituency received less funding for sixth form places in their final yearly allocations for 2009-10 than was indicated in their provisional funding figures.

Iain Wright: All schools (and, indeed, all other providers) have been funded in their 2009/10 allocations to at least the level of recruitment indicated in their provisional funding figures, as discussed with the LSC in early March 2009.
	On 31 March last year, the Department made an interim allocation consistent with the budget set out in the LSC's annual statement of priorities in November 2008. Providers were therefore notified of a minimum working budget by the 31 March 2009 with which to plan for the forthcoming academic year.
	These allocation figures differed from the provisional funding figures that providers had discussed with the LSC at the beginning of March, which were meant to be indicative of the likely level of demand coming through from young people. It was clear that this was well above the budget published the previous November. However, discussions were ongoing across Government at that time on what extra financial support was needed to provide for the increased learner demand providers indicated they could deliver. This additional funding was found and announced in Budget 2009, which provided for a further 54,500 learners in 2009/10 than planned. All providers were notified of their revised allocation, to at least the level of recruitment indicated in their provisional funding figures, as soon as was possible following Budget 2009.
	The following tables set out the funding and learner allocations for the sixth forms in the Torbay constituency. All the sixth forms learner allocations matched the provisional allocations and all the funding allocations increased from the 31 March 2009 allocations post Budget 2009. Four of the sixth forms saw increases on their provisional allocation in their final funding allocations. Two schools(1) did however see slight reductions from their provisional allocations, on account of the necessary changed approach in the application of transitional protection between the two allocation notices. The reductions were 1.5 per cent. and 0.4 per cent. of their provisional allocation. This was to avoid volatility in the data between years producing significantly different out turns in funding levels.
	
		
			  Torbay constituency provisional and final allocation figures 
			   Provisional funding allocations for 2009/10  (£ million)  Allocations sent on 31 March 2009 (£ million)  Final allocations for 2009/10 (£ million) 
			 Torquay Grammar School for Girls 1.135 1.056 (1)1.118 (1.5 % reduction) 
			 Churston Ferrers Grammar School 1.230 1.196 1.244 
			 Westlands School and Technology 1.254 1.218 1.291 
			 Paignton Community and Sports College 1.105 1.060 1.125 
			 St. Cuthbert Mayne School 0.751 0.716 0.760 
			 Torquay Boys Grammer School 1.568 1.473 (1)1.562 (0.4 % reduction) 
		
	
	
		
			   Provisional learner allocations for 2009/10  Allocations sent on 31 March 2009  Final learner allocations for 2009/10 
			 Torquay Grammar School for Girls 253 244 253 
			 Churston Ferrers Grammar School 258 248 258 
			 Westlands School and Technology 245 236 245 
			 Paignton Community and Sports College 238 229 238 
			 St. Cuthbert Mayne School 158 152 158 
			 Torquay Boys Grammer School 320 308 320

Special Educational Needs: Inspections

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what  (a) skills and  (b) qualifications are required of a person who is inspecting provision for deaf children as part of an Ofsted inspection.

Vernon Coaker: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Library.

Special Educational Needs: Inspections

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many inspections by Ofsted of schools with provision for deaf children in 2009 included on the inspection team someone with an expertise in deafness.

Vernon Coaker: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Library.

Special Educational Needs: Inspections

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools with provision for deaf children were inspected by Ofsted in 2009.

Vernon Coaker: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Library.

Truancy

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils were persistent absentees in each  (a) local authority area and  (b) constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: Attendance data was collected at individual pupil level for the first time in 2005/06 from secondary schools only. Information on persistent absentees in secondary schools in 2005/06 at local authority level has been placed in the Library.
	Information on persistent absentees in primary, secondary and special schools is available from 2006/07 onwards. Information at local authority level for 2006/07, 2007/08 and 2008/09, and parliamentary constituency level for 2007/08 and 2008/09 has been placed in the Library. To provide further information would incur disproportionate cost.

Truancy

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the  (a) rate of unauthorised absence and  (b) number of day pupils of compulsory age was in each (i) local authority area and (ii) constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: The available information for the years 1999/2000, 2000/01, 2003/04, 2007/08, and 2008/09 has been placed in the Libraries. To provide further information would incur disproportionate cost.

Vocational Education

Alan Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the 20 most popular vocational courses taught in schools are; and what proportion of students passed those courses in the latest period for which figures are available.

Iain Wright: The Department does not collect information about the subjects taught in schools but does collect information about exams taken in schools.
	The 20 courses with the highest number of exam entries in vocational(1) qualifications by pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2009 are given in the following table. The figures in the final column of the table are expressed as percentages of the whole cohort who were at the end of key stage 4 in 2009 rather than of those pupils who were entered for the qualification.
	(1) Qualifications that count in the achievement and attainment tables that are not GCSEs or advanced supplementary GCEs in academic subjects.
	
		
			  Qualification type  Qualification subject  Percentage of all pupils at the end of key stage 4 achieving a pass( 1) 
			 VRQ Level 2 Computer Use 13.2 
			 Basic Skill at Level 2 Numeracy 12.5 
			 Basic Skill at Level 2 Literacy 12.3 
			 General Qualification Level 2 Applied ICT 9.8 
			 VRQ Level 1 Sports Leadership 8.3 
			 Vocational GCSE Single Additional Applied Science 7.2 
			 OCR National Award Level 2 Computer Use 5.5 
			 Basic Skill at Level 1 Numeracy 3.9 
			 BTEC First Certificate Sports Studies 3.7 
			 BTEC First Certificate Applied Sciences 3.6 
			 VRQ Level 2 Preparation for Employment 3.4 
			 Vocational GCSE Double Health and Social Care 3.3 
			 Basic Skill at Level 1 Literacy 3.4 
			 Vocational GCSE Double Applied Science 2.9 
			 General Qualification Level 1 Applied ICT 2.0 
			 VRQ Level 1 Preparation for Employment 2.0 
			 Vocational GCSE Double Applied Business 2.1 
			 BTEC First Diploma Sports Studies 2.1 
			 Key Skill at Level 2 Working with others 1.9 
			 OCR National Cert. Level 2 Computer Use 1.9 
			 (1 )The figures in the table are expressed as percentages of the whole cohort who were at the end of key stage 4 in 2009 rather than of those pupils who were entered for the qualification.

Young People: Drugs

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many adolescents who received treatment for addiction to each category of drug were drug-free for  (a) their drug of choice and  (b) all other intoxicating substances in the latest period for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available centrally.

Young People: Drugs

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what intervention is used in the treatment of  (a) heroin dependency,  (b) crack dependency and  (c) cocaine dependency amongst the adolescents which the National Treatment Agency has identified as having a Class A drug dependency.

Dawn Primarolo: Young people's substance misuse is markedly different to that of adults, and so is the combination of treatment and support they receive. Addiction to Class A drugs among young people is rare, and although substitute prescribing for heroin dependency does occur, this represents only 1 per cent. of under-18s in drug treatment.
	Instead, interventions for young people tend to centre on psychosocial counselling-based therapies, which attempt to address the underlying causes and the behavioural consequences of the young person's drug and alcohol misuse. Most young people's substance misuse problems are with alcohol and cannabis, but these psychosocial therapies are also used with young people who misuse crack and cocaine.
	Specialist substance misuse services work closely with many other children's services and agencies in assessing and addressing every aspect of a vulnerable young person's life.